Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him

1
Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him?
  Is not thine a captured heart?
Chief among ten thousand own Him;
  Joyful choose the better part.
  Captivated by His beauty,
Worthy tribute haste to bring;
Let His peerless worth constrain thee,
  Crown Him now unrivaled King.
2
Idols once they won thee, charmed thee,
  Lovely things of time and sense;
Gilded thus does sin disarm thee,
  Honeyed lest thou turn thee thence.
3
What has stripped the seeming beauty
  From the idols of the earth?
Not a sense of right or duty,
  But the sight of peerless worth.
4
Not the crushing of those idols,
  With its bitter void and smart;
But the beaming of His beauty,
  The unveiling of His heart.
5
Who extinguishes their taper
  Till they hail the rising sun?
Who discards the garb of winter
  Till the summer has begun?
6
’Tis that look that melted Peter,
  ’Tis that face that Stephen saw,
’Tis that heart that wept with Mary,
  Can alone from idols draw:
7
Draw and win and fill completely,
  Till the cup o’erflow the brim;
What have we to do with idols
  Who have companied with Him?
25
Dawn Citto

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

How Marvellous is our Lord!

Draw & wind & fill completely,

Till the cup overflow the brim.

What have we to do with Idols?

Who have companied with Him?

Thank you for Your Beaming Beauty,

You are all together Lovely, precious Lord,

we Your many sons Love YOU!!!


Herber Ramirez

Fontana, CA, United States

I was touched by the following stanza:

“Tis that look that melted Peter,

’Tis that face that Stephen saw,

’Tis that heart that wept with Mary,

Can alone from idols draw[. ]”

Lord Jesus, we love You! Thank You for captivating us with Your beauty. Oh Lord, we just long to know You more. Lord, You are excellent. Amen.


Ryan Danek

United States

Lord draw me, and win me.


Tom

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Wow, for as many years as I have enjoyed this song, I never noticed the colon at the end of stanza 6, that leads back into being captivated. Only Jesus’ grace in his look, his face, his heart can draw from idols. And I have to say to myself “duh, of course! ” How could you be captivated by someone’s beauty without being in their presence??? And I will confess MY biggest idol right here: me, myself and I, the triune ME. I think I can do it, stay away from idols, and live this life, yet I am so deceived. HE is the rising sun, not me (thank the Lord! ), HE is the warmth of summer. What a joy to let him do what he does best, save and renew and recreate. Then I am truly free from all things especially idols like myself.


Lauren Bennett

Houston, TX, United States

A taper is a candle, and this is such a beautiful illustration in this song. When you’re in the dark and all you have is a candle, you’re going to cling to that little light. This is like those who don’t know the Lord, clinging to human knowlegde or Satan’s deceptions. But the Lord is a SUN to that little candle!!! Oh Lord, just be the sun to us! And reveal Yourself to only have a candle.


Roger Hsu

Alhambra, CA, United States

Wow Lord Jesus thank You for saving us from idols!


Anonymous

United States

"Not a sense of right or duty, but the sight of peerless worth."


Tom

Milwaukee, WI, United States

This hymn was apparently written by Miss Ora Rowan (1834-1879). No other information emerged about who she was and the circumstances around this hymn. Obviously she knew the Lord deeply, and the lack of information about her, itself, speaks volumes about her intimacy with Jesus and her knowledge of the cross. I found no other hymns under her name.


Dennis Lu

Monterey Park, CA, United States

When I woke up this morning and stared at the sunrise, it reminded me of this song. Oh Lord, You have captured my heart this morning!


Matthew and Jonathan

Irvine, CA, United States

We are captivated by Your Beauty!

The issue of experiencing God's appearing is always consecration. When we meet God, we spontaneously say, "Lord, everything that is mine is for You. I let You live in every situation." We often give messages on consecration. However, our messages cannot produce consecration. Consecration is not produced from our speaking. Consecration is brought forth after a person has met God. We can give people a mental understanding of consecration and teach them the significance of consecration. But no amount of listening to messages can cause a person to consecrate himself. A genuine and meaningful consecration is brought forth only after a person experiences God's appearing. Only "the sight of peerless worth" (Hymns, #437, stanza 3) can cause us to offer ourselves to the Lord.

Only the face of tears that Peter saw, only the face of glory into which Stephen looked, and only the heart that wept with Mary can keep us away from the idols, the attractions, of this world. The Bible tells us that Jesus wept with Mary (John 11:35). Have you ever heard that God weeps? Many say that Jesus came to express God, but they mainly refer to the miracles He did, not to the tears that He shed.

Piano Hymns