Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face

I have no words to describe moments with you ohh Lord!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!

Written in October, 1855, by Dr. Horacio Bonar. James Bonar, brother of the poet-preacher, asked his brother to furnish a hymn for the Lord’s table. It was the custom of the church at that time to print a memorandum of each service at the Lord’s table, with an appropriate hymn attached. Horatio in two days sent this hymn:

Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face-to-face,
Here would I touch and handle things unseen
Here grasp with firmer hand, th’eternal grace,
And all my weariness upon Thee lean.
The Tune

“Morecambe” is an anonymous composition printed with the words by the’Plymouth Hymnal’ editors. The meter of Bonar’s hymn is unusual, and melodies to fit it are not numerous, but this tune is found to be a meditative one so it is a proper tune for this hymn.

Brown and Butterworth 1906

We do not regard the things which are seen but the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). Hallelujah!

thank you

It is enough, my Lord, enough indeed; my strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone.

Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face;
Here faith can touch and handle things unseen;
Here would I grasp with firmer hand Thy grace,
And all my weariness upon Thee lean.
Amen! Praise the Lord!

The Lord's Supper has always been a special time for Christians. It is a time of soul-searching, but also joy. We remember Christ's death, but also His resurrection. Christ is the host of this meal; we have fellowship with Him as we eat and drink.

Different denominations have adopted different practices concerning the Lord's Supper. And in every tradition, it is possible for the sacrament to lose its meaning. For Horatius Bonar, a maverick Scottish Presbyterian, the important thing was that it would be a personal encounter with Christ. You can sense the rich interaction in these lines, the flux of emotions, and the warm devotion to the Lord, his "shield and sun." - Great Songs of Faith by Brown and Norton

Here oh Lord I see Thee face to face.... How close this composer is to God. So simple yet the presence of God seem so tangible. Glory to Thee oh God.

There are four more verses included in The Book of Praise (Macmillan & Co, 1871):

I have no wisdom save in Him who is
My Wisdom and my Teacher both in one;
No wisdom do I lack while Thou art wise,
No teaching do I crave save Thine alone.

Mine is the sin, but Thine the righteousness;
Mine is the guilt but Thine the cleansing blood;
Here is my robe, my refuge and my peace,
Thy blood, Thy righteousness, O Lord my God!

I know that deadly evils compass me,
Dark perils threaten, yet I would not fear,
Nor poorly shrink, nor feebly turn to flee;
Thou , O my Christ, art buckler, sword and
spear.

But see the Pillar-Cloud is rising now,
And moving onward through the desert night;
It beckons, and I follow; for I know
It leads me to the heritage of light.

"Feast after feast thus comes and passes by,
Yet passing, points to the glad feast above,
Giving sweet foretastes of the festal joy,
The Lamb's great bridal-feast of bliss and love."

I believe Horatius Bonar has seen something in his age concerning that which is clearer now more than ever; that the Lord's table is the second stage of the three-stage feast of God and His people. The first stage began with the Passover, the second with the institution of the Lord's supper, and the third and final stage of the eternal feast beginning in the Millenium and continuing through all eternity in the new heaven and new earth. What a glorious feast we are in today that never will end!

"The feast of the Passover was not completely fulfilled in the Old Testament. The Lord’s table, which also is a feast, replaces and continues the feast of the Passover. But not even this New Testament feast has been completely fulfilled; it will be fulfilled completely in the coming kingdom." Taken from The Life study of Luke Msg. 49. Witness Lee.