So strange it seemed and won­drous,
When first it came to me,
The story of King Je­sus,
I asked Can such things be?
I felt my heart re­ply­ing,
O if I on­ly knew!
The cross, the thorns, the dy­ing!
Oh is it, is it true?

Refrain

I love to hear it spok­en,
I love to read it through;
But O for word or tok­en
To tell me it is true!

And when I heard the sto­ry
Told o’er and o’er again,
How Je­sus, now in glo­ry,
Was walk­ing still with men,
Was fill­ing hearts with glad­ness,
And scat­ter­ing sun­shine through;
My own heart longed in sad­ness
To know if it were true.

Refrain

Then soft­ly was it spok­en,
Come, lean up­on My breast,
Ye wea­ry ones, heart­brok­en,
And I will give you rest.
My heart, so sad and lone­ly,
A lit­tle clos­er drew;
I cried, O Lord, if on­ly
I felt and knew it true!

Last Refrain

My Sav­ior, O my Sav­ior!
The old, old sto­ry’s new!
My strength, my joy for­ev­er,
I know, I know it’s true.