I Could Not Do Without Thee

Today’s hymn comes from Frances Ridley Havergal, author of other great hymns such as Like A River Glorious, and Take My Life and Let It Be. This hymn should be the cry of every true believer, echoing the words of Jesus in John 15:5 “…for apart from me, you can do nothing”. Enjoy!

I could not do without thee,
O Saviour of the lost,
whose precious blood redeemed me
at such tremendous cost;
thy righteousness, thy pardon,
thy precious blood, must be
my only hope and comfort,
my glory and my plea.

I could not do without thee,
I cannot stand alone,
I have no strength or goodness,
no wisdom of my own;
but thou, belovèd Saviour,
art all in all to me,
and weakness will be power
if leaning hard on thee.

I could not do without thee,
for, oh, the way is long,
and I am often weary,
and sigh replaces song:
how could I do without thee?
I do not know the way;
thou knowest, and thou leadest,
and wilt not let me stray.

I could not do without thee,
O Jesus, Saviour dear;
e’en when my eyes are holden,
I know that thou art near;
how dreary and how lonely
this changeful life would be
without the sweet communion,
the secret rest with thee.

I could not do without thee;
no other friend can read
the spirit’s strange deep longings,
interpreting its need;
no human heart could enter
each dim recess of mine,
and soothe, and hush, and calm it,
O Blessed Lord, but thine.

I could not do without thee,
for years are fleeting fast,
and soon in solemn loneness
the river must be passed;
but thou wilt never leave me,
and though the waves roll high,
I know thou wilt be near me,
and whisper, ‘It is I.’

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We Rest On Thee

Today’s hymn is written by Edith Cherry (1872-1897). Edith suffered from polio most of her life and later died from a stroke at the young age of twenty-five years old. Being a talented illustrator and poet, whilst serving the Lord even in her illness, on her death bed she wished (as we all do) that she had done more for Christ. One hymn in particular she wrote was the favourite among the missionaries to the Huaorani (known as Auca) tribe in the Ecuadorian jungle, with Jim and Elisabeth Elliot being among them. On the morning they hoped to meet the Auca’s face-to-face, Elisabeth later wrote, “at the close of their prayers the five men sang one of their favourite hymns, We Rest on Thee to the stirring tune of Finlandia [the same tune of Be Still, My Soul]. Jim and Ed had sung this hymn since college days and knew the verses by heart.” This hymn that had comforted and emboldened them on that morning, was the same morning that led to a series of events where the Auca tribe finally heard the gospel1. As this story shows us, we do not know what fruit the Lord will bring about from our work, as Edith didn’t know — all we can do is be faithful with what we have and pray that God’s will shall be done. Enjoy the version below to the same tune.

We rest on Thee our shield and our defender
We go not forth alone against the foe
Strong in Thy strength safe in Thy keeping tender
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go
Strong in Thy strength safe in Thy keeping tender
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go

Yes in Thy name O Captain of salvation
In Thy dear name all other names above
Jesus our Righteousness our sure Foundation
Our Prince of glory and our King of love
Jesus our Righteousness our sure Foundation
Our Prince of glory and our King of love

We go in faith our own great weakness feeling
And needing more each day Thy grace to know
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go

We rest on Thee our Shield and our Defender
Thine is the battle Thine shall be the praise
When passing through the gates of pearly splendour
Victors we rest with Thee through endless days
When passing through the gates of pearly splendour
Victors we rest with Thee through endless days

1hymnsillustrated.com/blog/hymn-of-the-month-we-rest-on-thee

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O Risen Lord, To You We Come

Today’s hymn is one written by British pastor Jeremy Walker, found on his blog. Not much is written about this hymn, other than it’s set to the same tune as Toplady’s “How Vast the Benefits Divine.” I hope you enjoy reading and meditating through this one!

O risen Lord, to you we come,
To you we raise our cry;
We come with a united heart,
Our souls to satisfy;
We come as those to whom you gave
The Promise from above:
The Spirit of the living God,
The gift of heavenly love.

We know our lack of heavenly light,
Our need of heavenly heat,
So come to seek your mercy still,
To plead at mercy’s seat:
We have no merit of our own,
No worthiness to claim,
But ask this blessing for your sake,
The glory of your name.

The Spirit whom you gave at first
Again on us bestow;
For more of him your people thirst,
More of your love to know.
Fill us, O Jesus, from on high,
Your Spirit now impart—
With holy fulness, bright and sweet,
Fill every trusting heart!

And then, O Lord, how shall we live!
How speak the truth we know!
How brightly shine in this dark world!
How readily we’ll go!
There is no weakness in your hand,
No coldness in your heart,
So fill us with your Spirit now—
The blessing sought, impart.

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