The Pilgrims Retrospect

( Originally Published 1868 )

REV. ROBERT F. SAMPLE

"Call to remembrance the former days. "--Heb. x. 32.

I'VE travelled a long and weary way,
Through many a valley dim ;
I have wept in the morning gray,
And sobbed my evening hymn ;
But 'tis the way that leads me home,
No more to weep, no more to roam;
And like a Sabbath chime
Aong the by-gone time,
The voice of Him who said,
"Tis I; be not afraid."

Sore conflicts oft with sin I"ve known,
And tempest-tossed have been ;
My heart was rent with many a groan;
Alas, the power of sin !
But strength was given and armour bright;
I walked by faith, and not by sight ;
And like a Sabbath chime
Along the by-gone time,
The voice of Him who said,
"Tis I ; be not afraid."

The light of cherished hopes went out,
And dark'ning storms came on ;
In forests cold I roamed about,
And refuge there was none ;
But Jesus came to my relief,
He hushed the wailings of my grief ;
And like a Sabbath chime
Along the by-gone time,
The voice of Him who said,
"Tis I ; be not afraid."

Soon on my home dark shadows fell,
My dearly-loved was dead !
Then sadly tolled the funeral bell,
And blinding tears were shed;
But in the goom arose a light,
As Jesus passed within my sight ;
And like a Sabbath chime
Along the by-gone time,
The voice of Him who said,
"Tis I ; be not afraid."