Anne Cousin was born on Ap­ril 27, 1824 in Kings­ton-up­on-Hull, York­shire, Eng­land. The daughter of a doc­tor, Anne mar­ried Will­iam Cou­sin, pas­tor of the Free Church of Mel­rose, Scotland. She con­trib­ut­ed ma­ny po­ems to var­i­ous per­i­od­ic­als; se­ven hymns to The Ser­vice of Praise (Ed­in­burgh, Scot­land, 1865); and one to Psalms and Hymns for Di­vine Wor­ship, 1866, the hym­nal of the En­glish Pres­by­ter­i­an Church. Four of her hymns were in­clud­ed in the Scot­tish Presby­ter­i­an Hym­nal, 1876. The hymn, “The Sands Of Time Are Sinking” is taken from a poem written by Anne Cousin. Cousin poem is based on the classic book “The Letters Of Samuel Rutherford” written in the 17th century¹.

The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for –
The fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark had been the midnight
But dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

The king there in His beauty,
Without a veil is seen:
It were a well-spent journey,
Though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army,
Doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

O Christ, He is the fountain,
The deep, sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory
But on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth
But on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Emmanuel’s land.

O I am my Beloved’s
And my Beloved is mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner
Into His house of wine
I stand upon His merit –
I know no other stand,
Not e’en where glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

¹hymnbook.igracemusic.com/hymns/the-sands-of-time-are-sinking

George Burden Bubier, son of Rev. William Bubier, was born in Reading, UK on Feb. 2, 1823. After serving for some time in a bank at Banbury, he prepared for the Congregational Ministry, at Homerton College. He was successively pastor of congregations at Orsett, Essex, 1844; Union Chapel, Brixton; Cambridge; and Hope Chapel, Salford, 1854. In 1864 he was appointed Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Spring Hill Congregational College, Birmingham. He died at Acock’s Green, near Birmingham, March 19, 1869. In 1855 he was joint editor with Dr. George Macdonald of Hymns and Sacred Songs for Sunday Schools and Social Worship, where you can find this hymn about communion with God; enjoy!

I would commune with Thee, my God;
E’en to Thy seat I come:
I leave my joys, I leave my sins,
And seek in Thee my home.

I stand upon the mount of God,
With sunlight in my soul;
I hear the storms in vales beneath,
I hear the thunders roll;

But I am calm with Thee, my God,
Beneath these glorious skies;
And to the height on which I stand,
Nor storms nor clouds can rise.

Oh, this is life! Oh, this is joy,
My God, to find Thee so!
Thy face to see, Thy voice to hear,
And all Thy love to know!