Christ My Song - 846
Out in the dew and cold he stands - The drops of the night
(Horatius Bonar/Johannes Thomas Rüegg)
The drops of the night.
Song of Solomon 5,2.
1. Out in the dew and cold he stands,
the drops of night are on his hair:
in patient love he waits without;
and who, who keeps him there? (PDF - Midi)
2. All heaven is in his earnest voice,
all glory on his brow so fair:
in sorrowing love he stands without;
and who, who keeps him there?
3. 'Open to me, beloved one,
with me thy heart and dwelling share:'
but still at the barred door he stands;
and who, who keeps him there?
4. He hath no place to lay his head,
no one a home or roof will spare:
no one respondeth when he knocks;
and who, who keeps him there?
5. The winds are out, the storm is up,
freezing and sharp the midnight air:
he dos not leave, but knocketh on;
and who, who keeps him there?
6. Our ear is sealed, our heart s cold,
and we refuse both hearth and fare:
he speaks, we hear not: Ah, 'tis we,
yes, we who keep him there.
7. But now no more we shut thee out,
O thou, the fairest of the fair:
come in, thou blessed One; we will
no longer keep thee there.
8. He cometh in, my board I spread,
my wine and viands I prepare:
the night-drops fall, the night-winds blow;
he is no longer there.
9. He sups with me, and I with him,
I wipe the night-drops from his hair:
I hear no more his knock without;
he is no longer there.
Horatius Bonar, The Song of the New Creation, 1872, 130-132.