1 Light of the lonely pilgrim’s heart,
star of the coming day,
arise, and with thy morning beams
chase all our griefs away.
2 Come, blessèd Lord, bid every shore
and answering island sing
the praises of thy royal name,
and own Thee as their King.
3 Bid the whole earth, responsive now
to the bright world above,
break forth in rapturous strains of joy
in answer to thy love.
4 Jesus, thy fair creation groans
the air, the earth, the sea —
in unison with all our hearts,
And calls aloud for thee.
5 Thine was the cross, with all its fruits
of grace and peace divine;
be thine the crown of glory now,
the palm of victory thine.
Source: CPWI Hymnal #330
First Line: | Light of the lonely pilgrim's heart |
Title: | Light of the Lonely |
Author: | Edward Denny (1842) |
Meter: | 8.6.8.6 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Light of the lonely pilgrim's heart. Sir E. Denny. [Missions.] Appeared in Psalms & Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Lond., D. Walther, 1842, Pt. i., No. 69, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. From this collection (J. G. Deck's) it passed in a full or an abbreviated form into numerous hymnals in all English-speaking countries, and has become one of the most widely used of the author's hymns. In addition to appearing in the hymnals, it was also published by the author in his Hymns & Poems, 1848, p. 44 (3rd ed. 1870, p. 14), and headed "The Heart Watching for the Morning," with the quotation from Cowper's Task:—
"Thy saints proclaim Thee King: and in their hearts
Thy title is engraven with a pen
Dipp'd in the fountain of eternal love,"
by which it was apparently suggested. A cento from this hymn, beginning with stanza ii., "Come, blessed Lord! bid every shore," is in a few collections.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)