Methinks I Stand upon the Rock

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.