Bible Songs — Miscellaneous

To the cross I long was clinging

No. 1208
Tune CLINGING AND RESTING.
Words Rev. L. B. Carpenter.
Music Jno. R. Sweney.
Key D-flat major
Singing key D♭ major
Time 3/4
3 stanzas

Words

To the cross I long was clingingAs a refuge from despair,Found relief from guilt of sinningWhile I lingered, clinging there.Still life's waves and storms assailed me,Doubts and fears my mind distressed,And with all the cross availed me,Clinging gave no perfect rest.

Chorus.

I was clinging, now I'm resting,Sweetly resting at the cross;I was clinging, now I'm resting,Sweetly resting at the cross.

To that cross I cling no longer,Doubts and fears no longer feel;Faith, and hope, and love, are stronger,Jesus' blood doth fully heal.Now my song is not, "I'm clinging,"That to me would now be loss,When with heart and voice I'm singing,"I am resting at the cross.

O what needless griefs I've carried,And what needless burdens borne!All because I, clinging, tarried,While the resting was unknown.Years of clinging were not wasted,Tho' they seem to me but loss,Since diviner sweets I've tastedIn the resting at the cross.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: no running head on p. 426 (the page opens with the hymn); hymn number «1208» (large, left), title «CLINGING AND RESTING.» centred (condensed capitals with larger initials); under it, centred on one line, the epigraph «"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward."—Heb. 10: 35.» (old-style figures); «REV. L. B. CARPENTER.» at the left (words) and «JNO. R. SWENEY.» at the right (music), capitals and small capitals. No meter and no reference line are printed (stanzas 8.7.8.7 D, chorus 8.7.8.7). The three stanzas are interlinear, numbered «1.»–«3.», in systems 1–4; «CHORUS.» stands over system 5 and the chorus is printed once, its words once per half: «I was cling-ing, now I'm rest-ing, Sweet-ly rest-ing at the cross;» at the foot of p. 426, «I was cling-ing, now I'm rest-ing, Sweet-ly rest-ing at the cross.» in the first system of p. 427 under the heading «CLINGING AND RESTING.—Concluded.». The chorus is sung after every stanza. Under the music of p. 426, centred: «From "The Garner," by per. John J. Hood.». In stanza 2 «cling» and «rest-ing» are printed in italics (written *cling*, *resting*). Stanza 2 opens a quotation at «"I am» that the print does not close («at the cross.» with no closing mark) — kept as printed (see uncertainties.md). Words printed whole under two notes («clinging», «carried», «distressed», «unknown») and the words divided under the notes are joined here («ref-uge», «de-spair», «re-lief», «sin-ning», «lin-gered», «cling-ing», «as-sailed», «a-vailed», «per-fect», «long-er», «strong-er», «Je-sus'», «ful-ly», «sing-ing», «rest-ing», «need-less», «bur-dens», «be-cause», «tar-ried», «wast-ed», «di-vin-er», «tast-ed», «Sweet-ly» → «refuge», «despair», «relief», «sinning», «lingered», «clinging», «assailed», «availed», «perfect», «longer», «stronger», «Jesus'», «fully», «singing», «resting», «needless», «burdens», «because», «tarried», «wasted», «diviner», «tasted», «Sweetly»); the divisions are in `lyrics_syllables.txt`. Each stanza is set in its eight verse lines (the print runs two verse lines on one staff line). Any thin space the print sets before «;», «:» or «!» (clearly in «10 : 35» of the epigraph) is closed up here. Apostrophes and quotation marks are written straight («life's», «I've», «I'm», «Tho'», «Jesus'»). Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.