Take Up Thy cross

Representative Text

1 Thou say'st, "Take up thy cross,
O man, and follow me;"
The night is black, the feet are slack,
Yet we would follow Thee.

2 But, O dear Lord, we cry,
That we Thy face could see!
Thy blessèd face one moment's space--
Then might we follow Thee!

3 Dim tracts of time divide
Those golden days from me;
Thy voice comes strange o'er years of change;
How can I follow Thee?

4 Comes faint and far Thy voice
From vales of Galilee;
Thy vision fades in ancient shades;
How should we follow Thee?

5 O heavy cross -- of faith
In what we cannot see!
As once of yore Thyself restore,
And help to follow Thee.

6 If not as once Thou cam'st
In true humanity,
Come yet as Guest within the breast
That burns to follow Thee.

7 Within our heart of hearts
In nearest nearness be:
Set up Thy throne within Thine own:
Go, Lord: we follow Thee.

Amen.

The Hymnal: Published by the authority of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1895

Author: Francis Turner Palgrave

Palgrave, Francis Turner, M.A., eldest son of Sir Francis Palgrave, the Historian, was born at Great Yarmouth, Sept. 28, 1824, and educated at the Charterhouse (1838-1843) and at Oxford, where he graduated in first class Classical Honours. He was scholar of Balliol (1842) and Fellow of Exeter (1846). He was engaged in the Education Department of the Privy Council till 1884, being also Private Secretary to Lord Granville (then Lord President). In 1885 he was elected Professor of Poetry in the University of Oxford. Professor Palgrave's publications include:— (1) Idylls and Songs, 1854; (2) Art Catalogue of the Great Exhibition, 1862; (3) Essays on Art, 1866; (4) Lyrical Poems, 1871; (5) Hymns, 1st ed., 1867; 2nd ed., 1868; 3rd ed., 1870.… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Thou sayest, Take up thy cross
Title: Take Up Thy cross
Author: Francis Turner Palgrave (1865)
Meter: 6.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

MARSHALL (Geer)


ST. THOMAS (Williams)

ST. THOMAS is actually lines 5 through 8 of the sixteen-line tune HOLBORN, composed by Aaron Williams (b. London, England, 1731; d. London, 1776) and published in his Collection (1763, 1765) as a setting for Charles Wesley's text "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" (570). The harmonization is by Lowell Maso…

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ALDERSGATE (Merrick)


Timeline

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The Cyber Hymnal #6690

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