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James Montgomery · 140 of 363

Hymn 137: Could I command with voice or pen

HYMN CXXXVII.

Could I command with voice or pen The tongues of Angels and of men, A tinkling cymbal, sounding brass My speech and preaching would surpass; Vain were such eloquence to me Without the of .

Could I the martyr's flame endure, Give all my goods to feed the poor; Had I the faith from Alpine steep To hurl the mountain to the deep, What were such zeal, such power to me Without the of ?

Could I behold with prescient eye Things future as the things gone by; Could all earthly knowledge scan, And mete out heaven with a span, Poor were the chief of gifts to me Without the chiefest--.

suffers long, is kind, bears a humble mind, Rejoices not when ills befall, But glories in the weal of all; She hopes, believes, and envies not, Nor vaunts, nor murmurs o'er her lot.

The tongues of teachers shall be dumb, Prophets discern not things to come, Knowledge shall vanish out of thought, And miracles no more be wrought, But shall never fail, Her anchor is within the veil.