Scripture Verse

The love of Christ constraineth us. 2 Corinthians 5:14

Introduction

Words: Co­ra B. Ev­ans, cir­ca 1895.

Music: Ed­win C. So­ley, 1911 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Ev­ans or So­ley (head-and-shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Evans wrote her hymn, The love of Christ con­strain­eth for the Wo­man’s Aux­il­i­a­ry to the Board of For­eign and Do­mes­tic Mis­sions of the Ca­na­di­an Church, and the text on which is based is the mot­to of that or­gan­i­za­tion. It was first pub­lished in The Let­ter, the or­gan of the Aux­il­i­a­ry, when Mrs. Ev­ans was ed­it­ing the Mont­re­al di­vi­sion, in the nine­ties. It ap­peared anon­y­mous­ly at first, and still lat­er in The Book of Com­mon Praise the au­thor’s name is giv­en.

Carl Fowl­er Price
The Chris­tian Ad­vo­cate, No­vem­ber 28, 1912

Lyrics

The love of Christ constraineth;
O let the watchword ring
Till all the world adoring
To Jesus’ feet it bring.
Till north and south the kingdoms
Shall own His glorious sway,
And east and west the nations
Rejoice to see His day.

Refrain

The love of Christ constraineth;
O let the watchword ring,
Till all the world adoring
To Jesus’ feet it bring.

The love of Christ constraineth;
And we who trust His Word,
Who know and feel its power
To gladder service stirred,
Shall neither faint nor falter,
Though dark the night and long,
And weak our hands that labor;
His strength shall make us strong.

Refrain

The love of Christ constraineth;
Then let us work and pray,
And watch the glad appearing
Of that triumphal day,
When Father, Son and Spirit,
By every tongue confessed,
All earth his broad dominion
In His dear love shall rest.

Refrain