2 Sam. xv. 19-22; John xii. 26.
"Wherefore
goest thou with me?"
Said
the king
disowned--
Said
the king despised, rejected,
Disenthroned.
"Go,
return unto thy place,
To
thy king of
yore--
Here
a pilgrim and a stranger,
Nothing
more.
"Not
for thee the cities fair,
Hills
of corn and
wine--
All
was portioned ere thou camest,
Nought
is thine.
"Wandering
forth where'er I may,
Exiled
from mine
own,
Shame,
rejection I can grant thee;
That
alone.
"Turn
and take thy brethren back,
With
thy people
dwell;
I
have loved thee, I, the outcast;
Fare
thee well."
Then
unto the crownless king
On
the Kedron's
shore,
All
the wilderness before him,
Ittai
swore,
"As
the Lord lives and the king,
Ever
lord to
me,
Where
in death or life he dwelleth
I
will be."
"Go--pass
over;" spake the king;
Then
passed Ittai
o'er;
Passed
into the place of exile
From
the shore.
He
and all his little ones,
Granted
by that
word,
Shame,
rejection, homeless wandering
With
their lord.
"Go--pass
over;" words of grace,
Spoken,
Lord, to
me,
That,
in death or life, where Thou art
I
might be.
Dead
and crucified with Thee,
Passed
beyond my
doom;
Sin
and law for ever silenced
In
Thy tomb.
Passed
beyond the mighty curse,
Dead,
from sin set
free;
Not
for Thee earth's joy and music,
Not
for me.
Dead;
the sinner past and gone,
Not
the sin
alone;
Living,
where Thou art in glory,
On
the throne.
Hidden
there with Christ in God,
That
blest life I
share;
Christ
it is who liveth in me--
Liveth
there.
"He
who serves Me," spake His lips,
"Let
him follow
Me,
And
where I am shall My servant
Ever
be."
Follow,
where His steps lead on,
Through
the golden
street;
Far
into the depths of glory
Track
His feet.
Till
unto the throne of God,
Of
the Lamb, I
come;
There
to share the blessed welcome,
Welcome
home!
There
with Him whom man rejected
In
the light
above,
Those
whom God His Father honours
Such
His love.
P. G.