1 O Jesu, thou art standing
outside the fast-closed door,
in lowly patience waiting
to pass the threshold o'er:
shame on us, Christian brethren,
his name and sign who bear,
oh shame, thrice shame upon us
to keep him standing there!
2 O Jesu, thou art knocking;
and lo! That hand is scarred,
and thorns thy brow encircle,
and tears thy face have marred:
O love that passeth knowledge,
so patiently to wait!
O sin that hath no equal
so fast to bar the gate!
3 O Jesu, thou art pleading
in accents meek and low,
'I died for you, my children,
and will ye treat me so?'
O Lord, with shame and sorrow
we open now the door:
dear Saviour, enter, enter,
and leave us never more!
Source: CPWI Hymnal #537
William W. How (b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, 1823; d. Leenane, County Mayo, Ireland, 1897) studied at Wadham College, Oxford, and Durham University and was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. He served various congregations and became Suffragan Bishop in east London in 1879 and Bishop of Wakefield in 1888. Called both the "poor man's bishop" and "the children's bishop," How was known for his work among the destitute in the London slums and among the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He wrote a number of theological works about controversies surrounding the Oxford Movement and attempted to reconcile biblical creation with the theory of evolution. He was joint editor of Psalms and Hymns (1854) and Church Hymns (1871). While rec… Go to person page >
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