The Church in the Village

There’s a dear lit­tle church in the vil­lage

Near the spot where I first saw the day;

Where in child­hood I learned of the Sav­ior

As the Life

and the Truth

and the Way.

O come to the church in the vil­lage

O come while the bells sweet­ly chime

O come from the hills and the val­leys

And list to the Gos­pel sub­lime;

O come to the church in the vil­lage

O come while the bells sweet­ly chime

O come to the church in the vil­lage

Seek God

while still there is time.

There it stands

when the bright sun is shin­ing

Where the broad

spread­ing trees cast their shade

Then at eve

when the sun has des­cend­ed

See it stand in the twi­light ar­rayed.

Then the light

shin­ing thro’ stain­èd win­dows

Sifting out

shim­mers in­to the night

Giving all that it touch­es new beau­ty

And dis­pell­ing the dark­ness with light.

Thus the dark­ness and blind­ness that bound me

Were re­moved in that dear

sac­red place

And no mat­ter how far I may wan­der

’Twill be dear till the end of my race.