Jacob, the father of the Israelites, had a vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder reaching to heaven (Genesis 28). This vision is remembered in the hymn Jacob’s Ladder, where the believer celebrates the spiritual life as an ever-upward journey toward God.eight handbells
As Jacob with travel was weary one day,
At night on a stone for a pillow he lay;
He saw in a vision a ladder so high
That its foot was on earth and its top in the sky:
Refrain:
Alleluia to Jesus, who died on the tree,
And has raised up a ladder of mercy for me,
And has raised up a ladder of mercy for me.
This ladder is long, it is strong and well made,
Has stood hundreds of years and is not yet decayed;
Many millions have climbed it and reached Sion’s hill,
And thousands by faith are climbing it still:
Come, let us ascend! All may climb it who will;
For the angels of Jacob are guarding it still:
And remember, each step that by faith we pass o’er,
Some prophet or martyr hath trod it before:
And when we arrive at the haven of rest,
We shall hear the glad words, “Come up hither, ye blest,
Here are regions of light, here are mansions of bliss.”
Oh, who would not climb such a ladder as this?
Hymn Tune: JACOB’S LADDER
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