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Updated 09/11/2020

The Haven of Rest

The lyrics to “The Haven of Rest” were written by Henry Lake Gilmore (1836-1920). Henry was the husband of Letitia Pauline Howard (married 1858). He emigrated to America at age 16. He started working as a painter, then served in the American civil war, where he was captured and spent several months in Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia. After the war, he became a dentist. In 1869, he moved to Wenonah, New Jersey, and helped found the Wenonah Methodist Church in 1885. For four decades, he directed the choir at the Pitman Grove Camp Meeting, and worked at camp meetings and revivals in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland, and Ridgeview Park, Pennsylvania.

The music was composed by George D. Moore. No information could be found for the composer.

Henry Gilmore

Lyrics by Henry Gilmore

My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying,
Make Me your choice;
And I entered the Haven of Rest!

Refrain
I’ve anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest,
I’ll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep,
In Jesus I’m safe evermore.

I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The Haven of Rest is my Lord.

Refrain

The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, who’ll save whosoever will have
A home in the Haven of Rest.

Refrain

How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the belovèd so blest,
On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the Haven of Rest.

Refrain

O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And say, My Belovèd is mine.

Refrain