Hymns of the Eastern Church (5th ed.) ‎#248

248. The Return Home

Safe home, safe home in port!
—Rent cordage, shattered deck,
Torn sails, provisions short,
And only not a wreck:
But oh! the joy upon the shore
To tell our voyage-perils o’er!

The prize, the prize secure!
The athlete nearly fell;
Bare all he could endure,
And bare not always well:
But he may smile at troubles gone
Who sets the victor-garland on!

No more the foe can harm
No more of leaguered camp,
And cry of night-alarm,
And need of ready lamp:
And yet how nearly he had failed,—
How nearly had that foe prevailed!

The lamb is in the fold
In perfect safety penned:
The lion once had hold,
And thought to make an end:
But One came by with Wounded Side,
And for the sheep the Shepherd died.

The exile is at Home!
—O nights and days of tears,
O longings not to roam,
O sins, and doubts, and fears,—
What matter now (when so men say)
The King has wiped those tears away?

O happy, happy Bride!
Thy widowed hours are past,
The Bridegroom at thy side,
Thou all His own at last!
The sorrows Of thy former cup
In full fruition swallowed up!

Text Information

• First Line: Safe home, safe home in port
• Title: The Return Home
• Translator: John Mason Neale (1862)
• Author: Joseph of the Studium
• Meter: 6,6,6,6,8,8
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1866

Tune Information

(No tune information)