Let Him that Heareth Say, Come

James Boyd

Hear, Lord, O hear the weary watchers’ cry,

    Who thro’ the long night scan the face of heaven

With expectation, till the azure sky

    Be like a garment riven.

And Thou, long hidden, shalt in royal state

    Appear for the salvation of Thine own,

Who during Thy long absence toil and wait,

    Despised, rejected, lone,

O rend the heavens! Bid Thy blood-washed throng

    Hear Thy triumphant shout, and trump of God,

That their glad hearts may fill with sacred song

    The firmament abroad.

Thou true and faithful! Thine so dearly bought,

    So loved, can never, Lord, forsaken be,

But in Thine absence everything is naught

    Apart from home and Thee.

Thy promise lives as deathless in Thy breast

    As when it was pronounced. Worlds may decay:

Thy love immortal is, and here we rest,

    And wait, and watch, and pray.

The wheels of time have turned and years have sped,

    Long weary years with expectation fraught;

The centuries of hope deferred are dead,

    And yet Thou contest not.

We know one day is as a thousand years

    With Thee, and years a thousand but one day;

But long delay and disappointment wears

    The soul of hope away.

Our hearts have followed Thee where Thou art gone,

    Our home is there, our everlasting rest,

Love’s dwelling place, the love of God made known

    By Thee, thro’ death expressed.

That holy love, of life the wellspring clear

    Revives our spirits in this desert dry,

The bread of God—Thyself in weakness here

    Our souls doth satisfy.

So that tho’ pilgrims in a barren land,

    Dry, waste, and desolate, not want we know.

We pass where manna falls upon the sand

    And living waters flow.

Yet, as the weary wanderer’s lonely heart

    Longs to his native hills to wing its flight,

So long we to behold Thee where Thou art,

    And walk with Thee in white.

Within those radiant courts with Thee to stand,

    Bathed in the light of love’s uncurtained rays,

With Thee, the Firstborn of the saintly band

    And Leader of their praise.

To see Thee crowned, to bear the universe

    With gladness thrilling, “Hallelujah” cry.

To see the sin, the darkness, and the curse

    Before Thy presence fly.

To see Thee welcomed, worshipped, glorified,

    To witness in this world, where Thou wast slain,

Where Thou wast humbled, scorned, despised, denied,

    Thy triumph and Thy reign.

Come, Son of God! O come, creation bless.

    Come, Lord of those that reign! Come, King of kings!

Shine forth in glory, Sun of righteousness,

    With healing on Thy wings.

Come, Morning Star! Bid stubborn night be gone.

    Come in the midst of all the sons of light.

Command the everlasting day to dawn,

    With God’s love strong and bright.

O come! Creation groans in deep distress.

    Come, heavenly Healer of its thousand woes.

Then the wild waste and barren wilderness

    Shalt blossom as the rose.

O hearken to the Spirit and the Bride

    Who will not while Thou tarriest be dumb;

Nor shall their invocation be denied,

    Come, then, Lord Jesus, come!

J. Boyd

Words of Grace and Encouragement 1904