Scripture Verse

Who is he who will devote himself to be close to Me? Jeremiah 30:21

Introduction

portrait
Fanny Crosby (1820–1915)

Words: Fan­ny Cros­by, in Songs of Joy and Glad­ness, ed­it­ed by Will­iam Mc­Don­ald, Jo­shua Gill, John R. Swe­ney & Will­iam Kirk­pat­rick (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: Mc­Don­ald & Gill, 1885), num­ber 30. Some hym­nals show the ly­ri­cist as Mar­tha J. Lank­ton, one of Fan­ny’s pseu­do­nyms. See al­so Just a Clos­er Walk with Thee.

Music: Will­iam J. Kirk­pat­rick (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
William J. Kirkpatrick (1838–1921)

Lyrics

I am hap­py, O my Sav­ior,
For I know that I am Thine,
Thro’ the pure and per­fect cleans­ing
Of Thy pre­cious blood di­vine:
But my soul would rise still high­er,
There are great­er joys for me;
I am long­ing, I am pray­ing
For a clos­er walk with Thee.
For a clos­er walk with Thee,
For a clos­er walk with Thee,

Refrain

Savior come, abide with me,
I am long­ing, I am pray­ing,
For a clos­er walk with Thee.

’Tis Thy hand, the clouds re­mov­ing,
Scatters sun­shine o’er my way;
I am feast­ing at the ban­quet
Of Thy mer­cy ev­ery day;
But my soul would drink more deep­ly
At the fount of life so free:
O my Sav­ior, I am pleading
For a clos­er walk with Thee.
For a clos­er walk with Thee,
For a clos­er walk with Thee,

Refrain

To the heights of sac­red rap­ture,
That I ne­ver yet have known,
Let me soar away in tri­umph,
Till my faith shall touch Thy throne;
In the wide un­fa­thomed ocean
Of Thy migh­ty love so free,
Let the tid­al wave roll o’er me,
Till my soul is lost in Thee.
Till my soul is lost in Thee,
Till my soul is lost in Thee;

Refrain