1 Not empty-handed would I go
To him whose love has blessed me so;
Some precious jewel would I bring
To shine forever for my King.
Refrain:
Not empty-handed would I go,
To him whose love hath blessed me so;
Some humble tribute may I bear,
Within those gates so bright and fair.
2 Not empty-handed would I go;
In life’s great field some seed I’d sow;
Some golden sheaf for him would bind;
Some blossoms tend, some fruitage find. [Refrain]
3 Not empty-handed would I go;
His grace will hidden treasures show,
O may I win them for his sake,
And, day by day, love’s off’rings make. [Refrain]
4 Not empty-handed would I go;
Thro’ summer’s bloom, thro’ winter’s snow,
I’ll work for him who died for me;
Till, by and by, his face I see. [Refrain]
Source: The Finest of the Wheat No. 3 #5
Pseudonym: Lidie H. Edmunds.
Eliza Edmunds Hewitt was born in Philadelphia 28 June 1851. She was educated in the public schools and after graduation from high school became a teacher. However, she developed a spinal malady which cut short her career and made her a shut-in for many years. During her convalescence, she studied English literature. She felt a need to be useful to her church and began writing poems for the primary department. she went on to teach Sunday school, take an active part in the Philadelphia Elementary Union and become Superintendent of the primary department of Calvin Presbyterian Church.
Dianne Shapiro, from "The Singers and Their Songs: sketches of living gospel hymn writers" by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (… Go to person page >
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