A Note from the Poet

Dear Reader,

These lines were born of a single thought: that when the soul at last hears the symphony that is in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, every lesser music grows faint. The world does not vanish; it is simply out-sung.

I have tried to set that moment in the older measure—rhyme and cadence such as our fathers used—so that the ear might linger long enough for the heart to follow. If the verse has any worth, it is only as a small echo of a greater harmony. Read it slowly, if you will, and may the same music find you.

— The Poet

Revelation 5:9

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.

Revelation 15:3

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

When first the symphony in Christ is found,

Our Lord and Saviour, source of every tone,

The lesser lights that once so brightly crowned

Grow faint, and every earthly glory’s gone.

The world’s loud clamor, gold and fleeting fame,

The passing joys that once held sovereign sway,

Now dim before the music of His name,

As stars grow pale before the breaking day.

The heart that chased each scattered, broken sound

Finds rest within that vast and holy chord;

And all that once was bright on mortal ground

Fades quietly before the risen Lord.

O Jesus Christ, in whom all things cohere,

In Thee the universe is tuned and clear.

**To God be the glory always and only.