The Cyber Hymnal ‎#1685

1685. The Gate Ajar for Me

1. There is a gate that stands ajar,
And through its portals gleaming
A radiance from the cross afar,
The Savior’s love revealing.

Refrain
O depth of mercy! Can it be
That gate was left ajar for me?
For me! For me!
Was left ajar for me!

2. That gate ajar stands free for all
Who seek through it salvation;
The rich and poor, the great and small,
Of every tribe and nation. [Refrain]

3. Press onward, then, though foes may frown,
While mercy’s gate is open;
Accept the cross, and win the crown,
Love’s everlasting token. [Refrain]

4. Beyond the river’s brink we’ll lay
The cross that here is given,
And bear the crown of life away,
And love Him more in Heaven. [Refrain]

Text Information

• First Line: There is a gate that stands ajar
• Title: The Gate Ajar for Me
• Author: Lydia Odell Baxter (1870)
• Refrain First Line: O depth of mercy! Can it be
• Language: English
• Source: Precious Hymns (Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: Beth­any Sab­bath School, 1870)
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Lydia Baxter wrote these words for Silas J. Vail. In Sacred Songs and Solos, Ira Sankey wrote this introduction to his song "Home at Last, Thy Labor Done:" Written on the dying words of a young convert (Maggie Lindsay) who lost her life in the railroad catastrophe at Manuel Junction, Scotland: All was packed, and ready for her going home to Aberdeen, her school-days being over. At 6:35 on Tuesday morning, the train for the North started; and she, with her eyes upon her hymn-book, the leaf turned down at her best-loved song, "The Gate Ajar for Me."

Tune Information

• Name: [There is a gate that stands ajar]
• Composer: Silas Jones Vail
• Key: c minor
• Source: Precious Hymns (Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: Beth­any Sab­bath School, 1870)