Scripture Verse

Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. Mark 6:31

Introduction

portrait
Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr. (1825–1906)

Words: Ed­ward H. Bick­er­steth, Jr., in Songs in the House of Pil­grim­age, 1872.

Music: Lan­gran James Lan­gran, first pub­lished in a leaf­let in 1861, then in Psalms and Hymns Adapt­ed to the Ser­vic­es of the Church of Eng­land, by John Fos­ter, 1863 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

  • Glaston Mrs. Ev­ans, in Re­demp­tion Songs (Lon­don: Pick­er­ing & In­glis, prob­ab­ly ear­ly 20th Cen­tu­ry), num­ber 563 (🔊 pdf nwc)

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Lan­gran (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Come ye your­selves apart and rest awhile;
Weary, I know it, of the press and throng,
Wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,
And in My qui­et strength again be strong.

Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
For con­verse which the world has ne­ver known,
Alone with Me and with My Fa­ther here,
With Me and with My Fa­ther not alone.

Come, tell Me all that ye have said and done,
Your vic­to­ries and fail­ures, hopes and fears.
I know how hard­ly souls are wooed and won:
My choic­est wreaths are alw­ays wet with tears.

Come ye and rest: the jour­ney is too great,
And ye will faint be­side the way and sink:
The Bread of Life is here for you to eat,
And here for you the Wine of Love to drink.

Then, fresh from con­verse with your Lord, re­turn
And work till day­light soft­ens in­to ev’n;
The brief hours are not lost in which ye learn
More of your mas­ter and His rest in Heav’n.