I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“Come unto Me and rest;

Lay down, thou weary one, lay down

Thy head upon My breast.”

I came to Jesus as I was,

Weary and worn and sad;

I found in Him a resting place,

And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“Behold, I freely give

The living water; thirsty one,

Stoop down and drink and live.”

I came to Jesus, and I drank

Of that life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,

And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“I am this dark world’s light;

Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,

And all thy day be bright.”

I looked to Jesus, and I found

In Him my star, my sun;

And in that light of life I’ll walk

Till traveling days are done.

HORATIUS BONAR (1808–1889)

HORATIUS BONAR loved to doodle as he wrote his hymns. On the sheet where this hymn first took shape, the lines are abbreviated, edited, and added to, and several doodles are scratched in the margins. Many of Bonar’s ideas came to him during long country walks in his native Scotland, and he often fleshed out his ideas while riding a train. All told, Bonar wrote more than six hundred hymns and became known as “the prince of Scottish hymnwriters.”

Bonar was a brilliant Bible scholar, an outstanding devotional writer, and an active church leader. He knew how to communicate profound truths to children through hymns. In so doing he helped adults to understand as well. The invitation of Christ to “come” is simple enough for a child to respond to. But after accepting that invitation, it takes a lifetime to probe the depths of what it means to come to Him, to drink the living water, and to walk in the Light.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 8:12