Ah, My Heart

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Ah my heart is heavy laden, Weary and oppressed

Author: St. Stephen of Mar Sabas; Translator: John M. Neale
Published in 14 hymnals

Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 Ah, my heart is heavy-laden,
Weary and oppressed!
“Come to me,” saith One, “and coming,
Be at rest, be at rest.”
“Come to me,” saith One, “and coming,
Be at rest!”

2 Hath he marks to lead me to him,
If he be my guide?
“In his feet and hands are wound-prints,
And his side, and his side.”
“In his feet and hands are wound-prints,
And his side.”

3 Is there diadem, as monarch,
That his brow adorns?
“Yes, a crown in very surety,
But of thorns, but of thorns!”
“Yes, a crown in very surety,
But of thorns!”

4 If I find him, if I follow,
What's my portion here?
“Many a sorrow, many a conflict,
Many a tear, many a tear.”
“Many a sorrow, many a conflict,
Many a tear.”

5 If I still hold closely to him,
What have I at last?
“Sorrow vanquished, labor ended,
Jordan past, Jordan past!”
“Sorrow vanquished, labor ended,
Jordan past!”

6 If I ask him to receive me,
Will he say me nay?
“Not till earth and not till heaven
Pass away, pass away!”
“Not till earth and not till heaven
Pass away!”

Source: The Ark of Praise #19

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Author: St. Stephen of Mar Sabas

(no biographical information available about St. Stephen of Mar Sabas.) Go to person page >

Translator: John M. Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Ah my heart is heavy laden, Weary and oppressed
Title:	Ah, My Heart
Author:	St. Stephen of Mar Sabas
Translator:	John M. Neale
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Blessed, blessed words of Jesus
Copyright:	Public Domain