The Cyber Hymnal ‎#12494

12494. Though In The Outward Church Below

1 Though in the outward church below
The wheat and tares together grow;
Jesus ere long will weed the crop,
And pluck the tares, in anger, up.

2 Will it relieve their horrors there,
To recollect their stations here?
How much they heard, how much they knew,
How long amongst the wheat they grew!

3 Oh! this will aggravate their case!
They perished under means of grace;
To them the word of life and faith,
Became an instrument of death.

4 We seem alike when thus we meet,
Strangers might think we all are wheat;
But to the Lord’s all-searching eyes,
Each heart appears without disguise.

5 The tares are spared for various ends,
Some, for the sake of praying friends;
Others, the Lord, against their will,
Employs His counsels to fulfill.

6 But though they grow so tall and strong,
His plan will not require them long;
In harvest, when He saves His own,
The tares shall into hell be thrown.

Text Information

• First Line: Though in the outward church below
• Title: Though In The Outward Church Below
• Author: John Newton, 1725-1807
• Meter: LM
• Language: English
• Source: Olney Hymns (London, W. Oliver, 1779), Book 1
• Copyright: Public Domain

Tune Information

• Name: OLD 100TH
• Composer (attributed to): Louis Bourgeois (1551)
• Meter: LM
• Key: G Major or modal
• Source: Four Score and Seven Psalms of David (Geneva, Switzerland: 1551)
• Copyright: Public Domain