Come, O My Soul, the Call Obey

Come

O my soul

the call ob­ey

Take up the bur­den of thy Lord!

His prac­tice is thy liv­ing way

Thy guide His pure un­er­ring Word;

The love­ly per­fect pat­tern read

And haste in all His steps to tread.

What did my Lord from sin­ners bear?

His pa­tience is the rule for me;

Walking in Him I can­not err:

And lo! the Man of Griefs I see

Whose life one scene of suf­fer­ings was

Quite from the man­ger to the cross.

Here then my call­ing I dis­cern

’Tis writt­en in af­flict­ion’s book

My first

and lat­est les­son learn

For no­thing here but suf­fer­ings look

I bow me to the will di­vine

To suf­fer with my Lord be mine.

To suf­fer as my Lord I come:

How did the Lamb His wrongs en­dure?

Clamorous and warm? or meek

and dumb?

Did He by force His life se­cure?

His in­jured in­no­cence de­fend;

Or bear His bur­den to the end?

Did He evade the pain

and shame

Impatient of un­just dis­grace?

Did He throw off the im­put­ed blame?

Did He from spit­ting hide His face?

Did He to man for suc­cor fly?

Or of­fer up Him­self

and die?

When na­ture sank be­neath her load

Would He the dread­ful cup de­cline?

Prostrate

and bruised

and sweat­ing blood

Fa­ther

Thy will be done

not Mine

He speaks

and meets His ene­mies

And gives them pow­er Him­self to seize.

The Word

which struck them to the ground

Could it not strike them in­to hell?

Whom all the hosts of Heav­en sur­round

He will not force by force re­pel;

Put up

He cries

thy need­less sword

Nor stain the meek­ness of thy Lord.

He chides His rash dis­ci­ple’s zeal

Accepts nor man’s nor an­gel’s aid:

Vouchsafes His wound­ed foe to heal:

The hands that had His mur­der­ers made

He stretch­es out; He lets them bind

The hands that could un­make man­kind.

Doth He in deed or word gain­say

Or ask or strug­gle to be freed?

The lead the speech­less Lamb away:

To scorn

and pain

and death they lead

The speech­less Lamb; re­signed un­to

The ut­most earth and hell could do.

O that I might like Him with­stand

Like Him mine in­no­cen­cy clear

Like Him re­sist the ruf­fi­an band

Like Him re­fuse the cross to bear

Like Him the per­se­cut­or fly

Like Him sub­mit to live

and die?