O who shall say he knows the folds

O who shall say he knows the folds

Author: Jane Roscoe
Published in 4 hymnals

Representative Text

O, who shall say he knows the folds
Which veil another’s inmost heart,—
The hopes, thoughts, wishes, which it holds,
In which he never bore a part?
That hidden world no eye can see,—
O, who shall pierce its mystery?

There may be hope as pure, as bright,
As ever sought eternity,—
There may be light,—clear, heavenly light,
Where all seems cold and dark to thee;
And when thy spirit mourns the dust,
There may be trust,—delightful trust.

Go, bend to God, and leave to Him
The mystery of thy brother’s heart,
Nor vainly think his faith is dim,
Because in thine it hath no part;
He, too, is mortal,—and, like thee,
Would soar to immortality.

And if in duty’s hallowed sphere,
Like Christ, he meekly, humbly bends,—
With hands unstained, and conscience clear,
With life’s temptations still contends,—
O, leave him that unbroken rest,
The peace that shrines a virtuous breast!

But if his thoughts and hopes should err,
Still view him with a gentle eye,—
Remembering doubt, and change, and fear,
Are woven in man’s destiny;
And when the clouds are passed away,
That truth shall dawn with brightening day.



Source: A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #283

Author: Jane Roscoe

Roscoe, Jane, a second daughter of William Roscoe, was born in 1797, married to Francis Hornblower in 1838, and died in 1853. Her Poems by one of the Authors of Poems for Youth by a Family Circle were published in 1820, and her Poems in 1843, Her hymns in common use are:— 1. How rich the blessings, O my God. Gratitude. In the Liverpool Kenshaw Street Collection 1818. 2. My Father, when around me spread. Peace in Affliction. Appeared in the Monthly Repository, Dec, 1828; and the Sacred Offering, 1832. 3. O God, to Thee, Who first hast given. Self-Consecration. In Poems for Youth, 1820. 4. Thy will be done, I will not fear. Resignation. [Rev. Valentine D. Davis, B.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (190… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: O who shall say he knows the folds
Author: Jane Roscoe
Copyright: Public Domain

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A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #283

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A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion. (10th ed.) #283

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Hymn Book for Christian Worship #455

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Hymn Book for Christian Worship. 8th ed. #a455

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