1 Precious Jesus! must it be,
Is it thy all-wise decree,
That afflictions must attend
Zion to her journey’s end?
2 [Must the heirs of endless bliss
Travel through a wilderness,
And, by savage beasts of prey,
Be tormented night and day?]
3 Yes, affliction is their lot;
Earth is a polluted spot,
Where a million evils dwell,
All in league with death and hell.
4 Pains and sorrows, sins and woes,
Will the Christian’s way oppose;
Every day brings something new,
Zion’s troubles to renew.
5 Yet, when faith is strong and true,
They with cheerfulness go through,
Scorning all created good,
When opposed to Christ, their God.
6 Living faith will still esteem
The reproaches of the Lamb,
Greater riches than this earth
Can afford the sons of mirth.
7 O for faith this choice to make,
And endure, for Jesus’ sake,
The reproaches of his cross,
Counting all things else but dross!
Source: A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship. In four parts (10th ed.) (Gadsby's Hymns) #616
Gadsby, William , was born in 1773 at Attleborough, in Warwickshire. In 1793 he joined the Baptist church at Coventry, and in 1798 began to preach. In 1800 a chapel was built for him at Desford, in Leicestershire, and two years later another in the town of Hinckley. In 1805 he removed to Manchester, becoming minister of a chapel in Rochdale Boad, where he continued until his death, in January, 1844. Gadsby was for many years exceedingly popular as a preacher of the High Calvinist faith, and visited in that capacity most parts of England. He published The Nazarene's Songs, being a composition of Original Hymns, Manchester, 1814; and Hymns on the Death of the Princess Charlotte, Manchester, 1817. In 1814 he also published A Selection of Hymn… Go to person page >
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