Category Archives: Hymns

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The herald an­gels sing,
Glory to the new­born King;
Peace on earth, and mer­cy mild,
God and sin­ners re­con­ciled!
Joyful, all ye na­tions rise,
Join the tri­umph of the skies;
With th’an­gel­ic host pro­claim,
Christ is born in Beth­le­hem!

Refrain

Hark! the her­ald an­gels sing,
Glory to the new­born King!

Christ, by high­est Heav’n adored;
Christ the ev­er­last­ing Lord;
Late in time, be­hold Him come,
Offspring of a vir­gin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the God­head see;
Hail th’in­car­nate De­i­ty,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Em­ma-nu­el.

Refrain

Hail the heav’n­ly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Right­eous­ness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with heal­ing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glo­ry by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them se­cond birth.

Refrain

Come, De­sire of na­tions, come,
Fix in us Thy hum­ble home;
Rise, the wo­man’s con­qu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the ser­pent’s head.
Now display Thy sav­ing pow­er,
Ruined na­ture now re­store;
Now in mys­tic un­ion join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Refrain

Adam’s like­ness, Lord, ef­face,
Stamp Thine im­age in its place:
Second Ad­am from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, re­gain,
Thee, the Life, the in­ner man:
O, to all Thy­self im­part,
Formed in each be­liev­ing heart.

Refrain

Words: Charles Wesley, 1739.

Wesley’s Original version:

Hark, how all the wel­kin rings,
Glory to the King of kings;
Peace on earth, and mer­cy mild,
God and sin­ners re­con­ciled!

Joyful, all ye na­tions, rise,
Join the tri­umph of the skies;
Universal na­ture say,
Christ the Lord is born to-day!

Christ, by highe­st heav’n ador’d,
Christ, the ev­er­last­ing Lord:
Late in time be­hold him come,
Offspring of a vir­gin’s womb!

Veil’d in flesh, the God­head see,
Hail th’in­car­nate de­i­ty!
Pleas’d as man with men t’ap­pear,
Jesus, our Im­ma-nu­el here!

Hail, the heav’n­ly Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of right­eous­ness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Ris’n with heal­ing in his wings.

Mild He lays his glo­ry by,
Born—that man no more may die;
Born— to raise the sons of earth;
Born—to give them se­cond birth.

Come, de­sire of na­tions, come,
Fix in us thy hum­ble home;
Rise, the wo­man’s con­qu’ring seed,
Bruise in us the ser­pent’s head.

Now dis­play thy sav­ing pow’r,
Ruin’d na­ture now re­store;
Now in mys­tic un­ion join
Thine to ours, and ours to thine.

Happy Forty Ninth Anniversary to us!

O Perfect Love

O perfect Love, all human thought transcending,
Lowly we kneel in prayer before Thy throne,
That theirs may be the love which knows no ending,
Whom Thou forevermore dost join in one.

O perfect Life, be Thou their full assurance,
Of tender charity and steadfast faith,
Of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance,
With childlike trust that fears nor pain nor death.

Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow;
Grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife,
And to life’s day the glorious unknown morrow
That dawns upon eternal love and life.

Hear us, O Father, gracious and forgiving,
Through Jesus Christ, Thy coeternal Word,
Who, with the Holy Ghost, by all things living
Now and to endless ages art adored.

Words: Dorothy F. Gurney, 1883

This song was sung at Greg and my wedding as a duet by my sister Kathy and best friend Heidi. This is a photo of them practicing for a duet with the daughter of the minister who officiated our wedding playing the piano.

Their duet at our wedding was forty nine years ago today. Over the years they sang many duets together. Our love is not a perfect love but God’s love for us and our marriage is perfect! We thank our God for protecting and sustaining our marriage for all these years!

History of the song…

It was Sun­day ev­en­ing [at Pull Wyke, Win­der­mere, Eng­land] and we were en­joy­ing a time of hymn sing­ing. A song that was par­ti­cu­lar­ly en­joyed by all of us was O Strength and Stay, the tune to which was a fa­vo­rite of my sis­ter.

As we fin­ished sing­ing this hymn, some­one re­marked, What a pi­ty the words of this beau­ti­ful song should be un­suit­a­ble for a wed­ding!

My sis­ter turned to me and chall­enged, What is the use of a sist­er who com­pos­es po­et­ry if she can­not write new words to a fa­vo­rite tune? I would like to use the tune at my wed­ding.

I picked up a hymn­book and said, If no one will dis­turb me, I will go in­to the lib­ra­ry and see what I can do. With­in 15 min­utes I was back with the group and read­ing the words I had jot­ted down.

The writ­ing of the words was no ef­fort what­ev­er af­ter the in­i­tial idea came to me of the two­fold as­pect of per­fect un­ion, love and life. I feel that God helped me write this song.

Dorothy Gur­ney

Our wedding party was small with just a Best Man and Matron of Honor. Greg’s only sibling, his older brother was the Best Man and Terry’s wife, Christina, was my Matron of Honor. We wanted to keep that part of our wedding simple. The dress Christina wore was off the rack from a ladies clothing store in a strip mall, classic and not frilly.

Note: The minister who officiated our wedding celebrated his 98th birthday on December 3rd! Doing the math that means Andy was 49 when he officiated our wedding! I copied this photo of him taken by his daughter (playing the piano above) just last week! Happy Birthday to Andrew!

Ah, Dearest Jesus ~ Hymn

 

Ah, Dearest Jesus

Ah, dear­est Jesus, ho­ly Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, un­de­filed
Within my heart, that it may be
A qui­et cham­ber kept for Thee.

My heart for ve­ry joy doth leap,
My lips no more can si­lence keep;
I, too, must sing with joy­ful tongue
That sweet­est an­cient cra­dle song.

Glory to God in high­est Heav­en,
Who un­to man His Son hath giv­en;
While an­gels sing with ten­der mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth.

Words: Martin Luther, 1535.

God Is Love! His Mercy Brightens ~ Hymn

God Is Love! His Mercy Brightens

God is love! His mercy brightens
All the path in which we rove;
Bliss He wakes, and woe He lightens:
God is wisdom! God is love!

Chance and change are busy ever;
Man decays and ages move;
But His mercy waneth never:
God is wisdom! God is love!

E’en the hour that darkest seemeth
Will His changeless goodness prove;
From the mist His brightness streameth:
God is wisdom! God is love!

He with earthly cares entwineth
Hope and comfort from above;
Everywhere His glory shineth:
God is wisdom! God is love!

Words: John Bowring, 1792-1872.

Why Should I Fear the Darkest Hour ~ Hymn

Why Should I Fear the Darkest Hour?

Why should I fear the darkest hour,
Or tremble at the tempter’s power?
Jesus vouchsafes to be my tower.

When creature comforts fade and die,
Worldlings may weep, but why should I?
Jesus still lives, and still is nigh.

Though all the flocks and herds were dead,
My soul a famine need not dread,
For Jesus is my living bread.

I know not what may soon betide,
Or how my wants shall be supplied;
But Jesus knows, and will provide.

Though sin would fill me with distress,
The throne of grace I dare address,
For Jesus is my righteousness.

Though faint my prayers, and cold my love,
My steadfast hope shall not remove,
While Jesus intercedes above.

Against me earth and hell combine;
But on my side is power divine;
Jesus is all, and He is mine.

Words: John Newton, 1771.

My God, I Love Thee

My God, I Love Thee

My God, I love Thee; not because
I hope for Heav’n thereby,
Nor yet because who love Thee not
May eternally die.

Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me
Upon the cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails and spear,
And manifold disgrace.

And griefs and torments numberless,
And sweat of agony;
E’en death itself; and all for man
Who was Thine enemy.

Then why, O blessèd Jesus Christ
Should I not love Thee well?
Not for the hope of winning Heaven,
Nor of escaping hell.

Not with the hope of gaining aught,
Nor seeking a reward,
But as Thyself hast lovèd me,
O everlasting Lord!

E’en so I love Thee, and will love,
And in Thy praise will sing,
Solely because Thou art my God,
And my eternal king.

Grander Than Ocean’s Story ~ Hymn

Grander Than Ocean’s Story

Grander than ocean’s story,
Or songs of forest trees;
Purer than breath of morning,
Or evening’s gentle breeze;
Clearer than mountain echoes
Ring out from peaks above,
Rolls on the glorious anthem
Of God’s eternal love.

Dearer than any friendship
Our truest comrades show;
Stronger than all the yearning
A mother’s heart may know;
Deeper than earth’s foundations,
And far above all thought;
Broader than Heav’n’s high arches—
The love that Christ has brought.

Richer than all earth’s treasures,
The wealth my soul receives;
Brighter than royal jewels,
The crown that Jesus gives;
Wondrous the condescension,
And grace beyond degree!
I would be ever singing
The love of Christ to me.

Words: William F. Sherwin, 1872.

By Grace Are Ye Saved ~ Hymn

 

By Grace Are Ye Saved

’Tis not by works that we have done,
Our souls redeemed will be;
But by the blood of God’s dear Son,
Who died on Calvary.

Refrain

By grace are ye saved,
By grace are ye saved thro’ faith,
And that not of yourselves,
It is the gift of God.
By grace are ye saved,
By grace are ye saved thro’ faith,
And that not of yourselves,
It is the gift of God.

’Tis not by works that we can do,
Our righteousness is vain;
But by what Christ Himself hath done,
Eternal life we gain.

Refrain

’Tis not by works of ours that we
Can know our sins forgiv’n;
But by the living word of Him
Who pleads for us in Heav’n.

Refrain

’Tis not our works, but Christ’s alone,
Then rest thy anxious soul;
For safe thou art on Him, thy rock,
While endless ages roll.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1899.

His Loving Arms Around Me ~ Hymn

His Loving Arms Around Me

I was far away from Jesus,
Dead in trespasses and sin,
And I thought for one so vile no hope could be;
But the blessèd Lord of Glory
Stooped and raised me to Himself,
And He put His loving arms around me.

Refrain

He put His loving arms around me;
He put His loving arms around me;
I looked into His face,
It beamed with tender grace,
As He put his loving arms around me.

Then He whispered to me pardon
Through the all atoning blood
Which He shed for my transgressions on the tree;
And the blessèd peace of Heaven
Came into my weary soul,
As He put His loving arms around me.

Refrain

Day by day He guides and keeps me
In the blessèd narrow way,
From the ban of sin and death He makes me free;
There’s no evil can befall me
While I’m resting in His grace,
And He has His loving arms around me.

Refrain

In the hour of deepest trial
When all earthly comfort fails,
And no cheering ray of sunshine I can see,
Then to Him I bring my sorrow,
And He wipes away my tears,
As He puts His loving arms around me.

Refrain

Oh this blessèd life in Jesus!
Sinner, won’t you hear His call?
From the power of sin’s dominion He can free;
Yield thy heart to Him this moment,
And with joy thou’lt surely find
That He’ll put His loving arms around thee!

He’ll put His loving arms around thee!
He’ll put His loving arms around thee,
Look up into His face,
It beams with tender grace,
And He’ll put His loving arms around thee.

Words: Ella M. Parks, 1901

Redemption ~ Hymn

 

Redemption

O wonderful words of the Gospel!
O wonderful message they bring,
Proclaiming a blessèd redemption
Thro’ Jesus, our Savior and king.

Refrain

Believe, oh, believe, in His mercy
That flows like a fountain so free;
Believe, and receive the redemption
He offers to you and to me.

He came from the throne of His glory,
And left the bright mansions above,
The world to redeem from its bondage;
So great His compassion and love.

Refrain

O come to this wonderful Savior,
Come, weary and sorrow oppressed;
Behold on the cross how He suffered,
That you in His kingdom might rest.

Refrain

There’s no other refuge but Jesus,
No shelter where lost ones may fly;
And now, while He’s tenderly calling:
O turn ye, for why will ye die?

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1887.