My Precious Bible (Hartzler)

Like a star of the morning in its beauty,
Like a sun is the Bible to my soul,
Shining clear on the way of love and duty,
As I hasten on my journey to the goal.

Refrain
Holy Bible! my precious Bible!
Gift of God, and lamp of life,
My beautiful Bible!
I will cling to the dear old holy Bible,
As I hasten to the city of the King.

Tis a light in the wilderness of sorrow,
And a lamp on the weary pilgrim way;
And it guides to the bright, eternal morrow,
Shining more and more unto the perfect day.

'Tis the voice of a friend forever near me,
In the toil and the battle here below;
In the gloom of the valley it will cheer me,
Till the glory of His kingdom I shall know.

It shall stand in its beauty and its glory,
When the earth and the heavens pass away,
Ever telling the blessèd, wondrous story
Of the loving Lamb, the only Living Way.

—by Henry B. Hartzler (1840-1920)

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