Standing at the Portal
By: Frances Havergal
Tune: St Alban by: John B Dykes
https://youtu.be/mFrvkn6gsts
1 Standing at the portal
Of the opening year,
Words of comfort meet us,
Hushing every fear;
Spoken through the silence
By our Father’s voice,
Tender, strong, and faithful,
Making us rejoice.
Onward, then, and fear not,
Children of the day;
For His word shall never,
Never pass away.
2 “I, the Lord, am with thee,
Be thou not afraid;
I will help and strengthen,
Be thou not dismayed.
Yea, I will uphold thee
With My own right hand;
Thou art called and chosen
In My sight to stand.”
Onward, then, and fear not,
Children of the day;
For His word shall never,
Never pass away.
3 For the year before us,
O what rich supplies!
For the poor and needy
Living streams shall rise;
For the sad and sinful
Shall His grace abound;
For the faint and feeble
Perfect strength be found.
Onward, then, and fear not,
Children of the day;
For His word shall never,
Never pass away.
4 He will never fail us,
He will not forsake:
His eternal covenant
He will never break.
Resting on His promise,
What have we to fear?
God is all-sufficient
For the coming year.
Onward, then, and fear not,
Children of the day;
For His word shall never,
Never pass away.
Frances Havergal would often write a hymn for the New Year and send them to her friends on post cards or letters.
A portal is more than just a door. A portal was an entrance of significance, often elaborately decorated. So we stand at the grand portal for a new year. And God’s words offer comfort and assurance for the coming year. The tender words of our Father will never pass away as Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:35.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
In the second stanza God promises to be with his people, this promise comes from Isaiah which Havergal quotes nearly verbatim.
“Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”
In the following stanzas we sing of all the promises we have received in Scripture and of our trust in their fulfillment as Jesus said in Matthew: His word shall never, Never pass away. We can rest in the comfort that our all-sufficient God will meet our every need and will be with us every day of the coming year.
