Helen Lemmel, born in 1864, was a talented singer and prolific hymn writer. Among the over five hundred hymns she penned was the deeply moving “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”
Inspiration came from a tract written by Lilias Trotter;
“So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness.”
She wrote about the profound affect these words had on her in her memoirs:
"Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody. The verses were written the same week, after the usual manner of composition, but nonetheless dictated by the Holy Spirit."
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free!
His word shall not fail you-He promised;
Believe him, and all will be well;
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Chorus: Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.
I find the words comforting in these dark and troubled days. I hope they bless you as well.
