In the first hymn we seem to be gazing on the 38 sunset sky of a peaceful summer evening; and the heavenly quiet of the scene awakens in the soul infinite longings that are sad in their very sweetness:
| I look beyond the far-off hills, O gentle Christ, for Thee: Come, my Belovèd, it is late, The sun goes down on me. | | These captive weeks of Babylon Make sorrow long delay: Oh! that I heard the jubilee Opening the gates of day. | | If from these fetters hard and cold My feet were only free, Long as I lived I would but sing The grace of Calvary. | | A pilgrim in a desert land I wander far and near, Expecting every hour to find My Father's house appear. | |