We Saw Thee Not
- Words:
- Anne Richter
- Music:
- Knowles Shaw
Sheet music
- 1We saw Thee not when Thou didst comeTo this poor world of sin and death;Nor yet beheld Thy cottage home,In that despised Nazareth;But we believe that footsteps trodIts streets and plains, Thou Son of God:But we believe that footsteps trodIts streets and plains, Thou Son of God.
- 2We saw Thee not when lifted high,Amid that wild and savage crew;Nor heard we that imploring cry,“Forgive, they know not what they do!”But we believe the deed was done,That shook the earth and veiled the sun;But we believe the deed was done,That shook the earth and veiled the sun.
- 3We gazed not in the open tomb,Where once Thy mangled body lay;Nor saw Thee in that “upper room,”Nor met Thee on the open way;But we believe that angels said,“Why see the living with the dead?”But we believe that angels said,“Why seek the living with the dead?”
- 4We walked not with the chosen few,Who saw Thee from the earth ascend;Who raised to heav’n their wond’ring view,Then low to earth all prostrate bend;But we believe that human eyesBeheld that journey to the skies;But we believe that human eyesBeheld that journey to the skies.
In the hymnals
- Written in 1834, the words are in 130 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The sheet music and words are from PDHymns.com. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.