Scripture Verse

No one has ever gone into Heaven except the One who came from Heaven—the Son of Man. John 3:13

Introduction

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John G. Whittier (1807–1892)

Words: John G. Whit­ti­er, 1856. This hymn, and Im­mor­tal Love, For­ev­er Full, come from Whit­ti­er’s po­em The Mas­ter, in The Pa­no­ra­ma, and Oth­er Po­ems, 1856.

Music: Se­ren­i­ty, adapt­ed by Uz­zi­ah C. Bur­nap, 1856, from Waft, Ye Winds, by Will­iam V. Wall­ace, 1836 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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William V. Wallace (1812–1865)

Lyrics

We may not climb the hea­ven­ly steeps
To bring the Lord Christ down;
In vain we search the low­est deeps,
For Him no depths can drown.

But warm, sweet, ten­der, even yet
A pre­sent help is He;
And faith has still its Ol­iv­et,
And love its Ga­li­lee.

The heal­ing of the seam­less dress
Is by our beds of pain;
We touch Him in life’s throng and press,
And we are whole again.

Through Him the first fond pray­ers are said
Our lips of child­hood frame;
The last low whis­pers of our dead
Are bur­dened with His name.

O Lord and Mas­ter of us all,
Whate’er our name or sign,
We own Thy sway, we hear Thy call,
We test our lives by Thine!