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Methinks I Stand Upon The Rock

Representative Text

1 Methinks I stand upon the rock
Where Balaam stood, and wondering look
Upon the scene below:
The tents of Jacob goodly seem,
The people happy I esteem,
Whom God has favored so.

2 The sons of Israel stand alone,
Jehovah claims them for His own,
His cause and theirs the same:
He saved them from the tyrant’s hand,
Allots to them a pleasant land,
And calls them by His name.

3 Their toils have almost reached a close,
And soon in peace they shall repose
Within the promised land:
E’en now its rising hills are seen,
Enriched with everlasting green,
Where Israel soon shall stand.

4 O Israel, who is like to thee?
A people saved, and called to be
Peculiar to the Lord!
Thy shield! He guards thee from the foe;
Thy sword! He fights thy battles, too;
Himself thy great reward!

5 Fear not, though many should oppose,
For God is stronger than thy foes,
And makes thy cause His own:
The promised land before thee lies,
Go up, and take the glorious prize
Reserved for thee alone.

6 In glory there the King appears;
He wipes away His people’s tears,
And makes their sorrows cease:
From toil and strife they there repose,
And dwell secure from all their foes,
In everlasting peace.

7 Fair emblem of a better rest,
Of which believers are possessed,
Beyond material space!
Methinks I see the distant shore,
Where sin and sorrow are no more;
And long to reach the place.

8 Nor shall I always absent be
From Him my soul desires to see,
Within the realms of light;
Ere long my Lord will rend the veil,
And not a cloud shall then conceal
His glory from my sight.

9 Sweet hope! it makes the coward brave;
It makes a freeman of the slave,
And bids the sluggard rise;
It lifts a worm of earth on high,
It gives him wings, and makes him fly
To worlds beyond the skies.

Author: Thomas Kelly

Kelly, Thomas, B.A., son of Thomas Kelly, a Judge of the Irish Court of Common Pleas, was born in Dublin, July 13, 1769, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was designed for the Bar, and entered the Temple, London, with that intention; but having undergone a very marked spiritual change he took Holy Orders in 1792. His earnest evangelical preaching in Dublin led Archbishop Fowler to inhibit him and his companion preacher, Rowland Hill, from preaching in the city. For some time he preached in two unconsecrated buildings in Dublin, Plunket Street, and the Bethesda, and then, having seceded from the Established Church, he erected places of worship at Athy, Portarlington, Wexford, &c, in which he conducted divine worship and preached. H… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Methinks I stand upon the rock
Title: Methinks I Stand Upon The Rock
Author: Thomas Kelly
Meter: 8.8.6.8.8.6
Source: Collection of Psalms and Hymns, 1802
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #9812
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #9812

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