1 How full of anguish is the thought,
How it distracts and tears my heart,
If God at last, my sovereign judge,
Should frown, and bid my soul Depart!

2 Lord, when I quit this earthly stage,
Where shall I fly, but to Thy breast?
For I have sought no other home;
For I have learned no other rest.

3 I cannot live contented here,
Without some glimpses of Thy face;
And Heav’n, without Thy presence there,
Would be a dark and tiresome place.

4 When earthly cares engross the day,
And hold my thoughts aside from Thee,
The shining hours of cheerful light
Are long and tedious years to me.

5 And if no evening visit’s paid
Between my Savior and my soul,
How dull the night! how sad the shade!
How mournfully the minutes roll!

6 This flesh of mine might learn as soon
To live, yet part with all my blood;
To breathe, when vital air is gone,
Or thrive and grow without my food.

7 Christ is my light, my life, my care,
My blessèd hope, my heav’nly prize;
Dearer than all my passions are,
My limbs, my bowels, or my eyes.

8 The strings that twine about my heart,
Tortures and racks may tear them off;
But they can never, never part
With their dear hold of Christ my love.

9 My God! And can a humble child,
That loves Thee with a flame so high,
Be ever from Thy face exiled,
Without the pity of Thine eye?

10 Impossible! For Thine own hands
Have tied my heart so fast to Thee;
And in Thy book the promise stands,
That where Thou art, Thy friends must be.