Gwahoddiad – Mi glywaf dyner lais
Gwahoddiad has a strange history. most people think of it as a Welsh hymn, and in one sense it is.
But it is derived from an American hymn, “I Am Coming, Lord!” by Lewis Hartsough , which was translated, very freely, into Welsh by John Roberts (Ieuan Gwyllt ) 1822–1877.
Most people have now forgotten the original American version, and indeed the differences between the the two versions makes it in many ways almost a separate hymn.
What I have done here is to ignore the American original and translate the Welsh into as close an English equivalent as I could.
Here is the result:
English Translation
I hear a tender voice,
A-calling now to me
To cleanse myself in precious blood,
That flowed on Calvary.
Chorus
Lord I hear Thy call
And I come to Thee!
Oh wash me spotless in the blood
That flowed on Calvary!
In Jesus is my trust
That I with all the Saints
Shall faith and hope and peace receive
And Heaven’s open gates.
In Jesus is my strength
Forgiving all my sin
He gives such power to weakened flesh
That I to heaven can win.
Cleansed, reconciled to Him
Who died upon the Tree
I come to Jesus as I am
And sing of Calvary
Copyright Malcolm Cowen (Cerddaf) 2016
Welsh Original
Mi glywaf dyner lais,
Yn galw arnaf fi,
I ddod a golchi ‘meiau gyd,
Yn afon Calfari.
Byrdwn
Arglwydd, dyma fi
Ar dy alwad di,
Golch fi’n burlan yn y gwaed
A gaed ar Galfari.
Yr Iesu sy’n fy ngwadd,
I dderbyn gyda’i saint,
Ffydd, gobaith, cariad pur a hedd,
A phob rhyw nefol fraint.
Yr Iesu sy’n cryfhau,
O’m mewn Ei waith trwy ras;
Mae’n rhoddi nerth i’m henaid gwan,
I faeddu ‘mhechod cas.
Gogoniant byth am drefn,
Y cymod a’r glanhad;
Derbyniaf Iesu fel yr wyf,
A chanaf am y gwaed.
John Roberts (Ieuan Gwyllt ) 1822–1877