Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown

Verse 1
Come, O thou traveller unknown,
Whom still I hold, but cannot see, (John 20:29, I Peter 1:8)
My company before is gone, (Gen. 32:23)
And I am left alone with thee, (Gen. 32:24)
With thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day. (Gen. 32:24)

Verse 2
I need not tell thee who I am,
My misery, or sin declare,
Thyself hast call’d me by my name, (Gen. 32:28, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 45:4)
Look on thy hands, and read it there, (Isaiah 49:16)
But who, I ask thee, who art thou,
Tell me thy name, and tell me now? (Gen. 32:29)

Verse 3
In vain thou strugglest to get free, (Gen. 32:25-26)
I never will unloose my hold:
Art thou the man that died for me? (Romans 5:8, I Thessalonians 5:10)
The secret of thy love unfold;
Wrestling I will not let thee go,
Till I thy name, thy nature know. (Gen. 32:29)

Verse 4
Wilt thou not yet to me reveal
Thy new, unutterable name? (Gen. 32:29)
Tell me, I still beseech thee, tell,
To know it now resolv’d I am; (Gen. 32:29)
Wrestling I will not let thee go,
Till I thy name, thy nature know. (Gen. 32:29)

Verse 5
’Tis all in vain to hold thy tongue,
Or touch the hollow of my thigh: (Gen. 32:25)
Though every sinew be unstrung,
Out of my arms thou shalt not fly;
Wrestling I will not let thee go,
Till I thy name, thy nature know. (Gen. 32:29)

Verse 6
What tho’ my shrinking flesh complain,
And murmur to contend so long,
I rise superior to my pain,
When I am weak then I am strong, (II Corinthians 12:10)
And when my all of strength shall fail,
I shall with the God-man prevail. (Gen. 32:28)

Verse 7
My strength is gone, my nature dies,
I sink beneath thy weighty hand,
Faint to revive, and fall to rise;
I fall, and yet by faith I stand, (Romans 11:20, II Corinthians 1:24)
I stand, and will not let thee go,
Till I thy name, thy nature know. (Gen. 32:29)

Verse 8
Yield to me now—for I am weak;
But confident in self-despair:
Speak to my heart, in blessings speak,
Be conquer’d by my instant prayer,
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move,
And tell me, if thy name is love. (I John 4:8, I John 4:16)

Verse 9
’Tis love, ’tis love! Thou diedst for me,
I hear thy whisper in my heart.
The morning breaks, the shadows flee: (Song of Solomon 2:17)
Pure UNIVERSAL LOVE thou art,
To me, to all thy bowels move,
Thy nature, and thy name is love.

Verse 10
My prayer hath power with God; the grace
Unspeakable I now receive,
Thro’ faith I see thee face to face, (Hebrews 11:1)
I see thee face to face, and live: (Exodus 33:20)
In vain I have not wept, and strove,
Thy nature, and thy name is love.

Verse 11
I know thee, Saviour, who thou art,
Jesus, the feeble sinner’s friend; (Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34)
Nor wilt thou with the night depart,
But stay, and love me to the end; (John 13:1)
Thy mercies never shall remove, (II Samuel 7:15, Isaiah 54:10)
Thy nature, and thy name is love.

Verse 12
The Sun of righteousness on me
Hath rose with healing in his wings, (Malachi 4:2)
Wither’d my nature’s strength; from thee
My soul its life and succour brings,
My help is all laid up above;
Thy nature, and thy name is love.

Verse 13
Contented now upon my thigh
I halt, till life’s short journey end; (Gen. 32:31)
All helplesness, all weakness I,
On thee alone for strength depend,
Nor have I power, from thee, to move;
Thy nature, and thy name is love.

Verse 14
Lame as I am, I take the prey, (Gen. 32:31)
Hell, earth, and sin with ease o’ercome;
I leap for joy, pursue my way,
And as a bounding hart fly home, (Isaiah 35:6)
Thro’ all eternity to prove
Thy nature, and thy name is love.