All alone in the evening grey,

Sick and dying poor Hannah lay;

Through the broken pane the cold wind swept,

Poor Hannah shivered, and moaned and wept.

But it was not cold, and it was not pain,

That made her shiver and moan again;

She did not say, "My pain is sore",

But "Where shall I be when all is oér?"

For Hannah remembered the years gone by,

And she said "A sinner-A sinner am I?.

All black and fearful the sins appear

That I had forgotten for many a year.

And thousands, thousands they come to mind-

There is death before, and sin behind.

The Lord is holy and just and true,

And what He has said He will surely do.

And my soul is black with the sins of years,

They cannot be washed away with tears.

And sure it tis vain to pray and cry;

He cannot hear such a sinner as I.

I am going-going-to stand alone,

Before the Lord, on His holy throne.

* * * *

Bright and glad as the stars came out,

With many a laugh and many a shout,

Jack and Will in the garden played,

And they heeded not the noise they made.

But the neighbour calling said "Children dear,

A woman is sick in that house so near.

There , where the broken pane you see,

She is lying as ill as she can be.

She soon must die, and you see it’s best,

You should be still and let her rest".

Then in a moment they were still,

For tender hearts had both Jack and Will.

And they sat and looked at the casement lone,

Till the stars shone bright, and the day was gone.

Then Jack said, "Will, she will go to heaven,

If she has had her sins forgiven.

I learned at school that when Jesus died

The door of heaven was opened wide,

Because He was punished for all our sins

So now if we die, we can all go in;

Of our sins there will not a word be said,

For Jesus Christ was punished instead.

And if she believes that He loves her so,

Then beyond the stars her soul will go.

He will lead her through the golden door;

And she will be happy forever more".

Then Will said, "Jack that is all quite true-

But does she know it as well as you?

What Jesus did we have both been taught,

But some know this, and some do not.

O Jack , maybe she has never known

What it is that the Lord has done!"

Then said Jack "If you could help me Will,

I would climb up to the window sill,

And through the hole I would call and say.

‘Jesus washes our sins away’!"

* * * *

The neighbour said, when her work was done,

"It maybe Hannah is all alone,

And oh! It’s an awful thing to lie

Too ill to live, yet afraid to die.

So just to sit with her I will go,

But how to help her I do not know".

So the neighbour , but she heard no groan,

And she thought poor Hannah is dead and gone.

So she lit a candle in fear and dread

And she stooped to see if Hannah was dead.

But there she lay with her face so bright!

It shone with glory and not with light,

And she said O neighbour the Lord is good!

He has washed me white in His precious Blood,

My sins are gone from before His face,

And He has prepared me a glorious place,

Where those He loves with Himself shall be,

And to that sweet home He is calling me.

O neighbour, as here in the dark I lay,

I felt so guilty I could not pray,

All my sins like a mountain stood

Beneath the eye of a holy God.

Then all in a moment sweet and clear,

A voice spoke loud, though none was near.

Like an angel speaking I heard it say,

‘Jesus washes our sins away!

And whilst I thought, Do my ears tell true?

It said ‘Poor woman, He died for you’

And then did the words come sweet and low

That I had forgotten long ago;

I once heard tell in the years gone by,

How Jesus came on the cross to die,

And there He hung in the darkness dread,

With a crown of thorns on His holy head,

And some old, old words came back to me

‘He bore our sins on the cursed tree,

Ýes it was true that Mine He bore,

So the guilt is gone, and the judgement o’er;

And more than that, if He died for me,

What must the love of Jesus be?

He in His home of glory waits

To see me enter the golden gates;

Whilst I lay moaning in black despair;

His heart was longing to have me there.

And oh, for the welcome I soon shall know!

No words can tell how I long to go!"

* * * *