Category Archives: Hymns

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Comfort, com­fort ye My peo­ple,
Speak ye peace, thus sa­ith our God;
Comfort those who sit in dark­ness,
Mourning ’neath their sor­row’s load;
Speak ye to Je­ru­sa­lem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cov­er,
And her war­fare now is ov­er.

For the her­ald’s voice is cry­ing
In the des­ert far and near,
Bidding all men to re­pent­ance,
Since the king­dom now is here.
O that warn­ing cry ob­ey!
Now pre­pare for God a way!
Let the val­leys rise to meet Him,
And the hills bow down to greet Him.

Yea, her sins our God will par­don,
Blotting out each dark mis­deed;
All that well de­served His an­ger
He will no more see nor heed.
She has suf­fered ma­ny a day,
Now her griefs have passed away,
God will change her pin­ing sad­ness
Into ev­er spring­ing glad­ness.

Make ye straight what long was crook­ed,
Make the rough­er places plain:
Let your hearts be true and hum­ble,
As be­fits His ho­ly reign,
For the glo­ry of the Lord
Now o’er the earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the tok­en
That His Word is nev­er brok­en.

O Lord, How Shall I Meet You?

O Lord, How Shall I Meet You?

O Lord, how shall I meet You, how welcome you aright?
Your people long to greet You, my hope, my heart’s delight!
O kindle, Lord most holy, a lamp within my breast,
To do in spirit lowly all that may please You best.

Love caused Your incarnation, love brought You down to me;
Your thirst for my salvation procured my liberty.
O love beyond all telling, that led you to embrace
In love all loves excelling our lost and fallen race.

A glorious crown You gave me, a treasure safe on high,
That will not fail nor leave me as earthly riches fly.
My heart shall bloom forever for You with praises new,
And from Your name shall never withhold the honor due.

Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1653. Translation: Catherine Winkworth, 1863.

Alternate Translation 1851:

O how shall I receive Thee,
How meet Thee on Thy way;
Blest hope of every nation,
My soul’s delight and stay?
O Jesus, Jesus, give me,
By Thine illuming light,
To know whate’er is pleasing
And welcome in Thy sight.

Thy Zion palms is strewing
With branches fresh and fair;
And every soul awaking,
Her anthem shall prepare;
Perpetual thanks and praises
Forth from our hearts shall spring;
And to Thy name the service
Of all our powers we bring.

O ye who sorrow, sinking
Beneath your grief and pain,
Rejoice in His appearing,
Who shall your souls sustain;
He comes, He comes with gladness!
How great is His good-will!
He comes, all grief and anguish
Shall at His Word be still.

Ye who with guilty terror
Are trembling, fear no more;
With love and grace the Savior
Shall you to hope restore:
He comes, who contrite sinners
Will with the children place,
The children of His Father,
The heirs of life and grace.

He comes, the Lord, to judgment;
Woe, woe to them who hate!
To those who love and seek Him
He opens the heavenly gate.
Come quickly, gracious Savior,
And gather us to Thee,
That in the light eternal
Our joyous home may be.

And another translation:

O how shall I receive Thee,
How greet Thee, Lord, aright?
All nations long to see Thee,
My hope, my heart’s delight!
O kindle, Lord, most holy,
Thy lamp within my breast,
To do in spirit lowly
All that may please Thee best.

Thy Zion palms is strewing,
And branches fresh and fair;
My heart, its powers renewing,
An anthem shall prepare.
My soul puts off her sadness
Thy glories to proclaim;
With all her strength and gladness
She fain would serve Thy name.

I lay in fetters groaning,
Thou com’st to set me free;
I stood, my shame bemoaning,
Thou com’st to honor me.
A glory Thou dost give me,
A treasure safe on high,
That will not fail nor leave me
As earthly riches fly.

Love caused Thine incarnation
Love brought Thee down to me;
Thy thirst for my salvation
Procured my liberty.
O love beyond all telling,
That led Thee to embrace,
In love all love excelling,
Our lost and fallen race!

Rejoice, then, ye sad-hearted,
Who sit in deepest gloom,
Who mourn o’er joys departed,
And tremble at your doom:
He who alone can cheer you,
Is standing at the door;
He brings His pity near you,
And bids you weep no more.

 

The Promise of My Father’s Love ~Hymn

The Promise of My Father’s Love

The promise of My Father’s love
Shall stand for ever good,
He said, and gave His soul to death,
And sealed the grace with blood.

To this dear covenant of Thy Word
I set my worthless name;
I seal th’engagement to my Lord,
And make my humble claim.

The light, and strength, and pardoning grace,
And glory shall be mine;
My life and soul, my heart and flesh,
And all my powers are Thine.

I call that legacy my own
Which Jesus did bequeath;
’Twas purchased with a dying groan,
And ratified in death.

Sweet is the memory of His name,
Who blessed us in His will,
And to His testament of love
Made His own life the seal.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1709.

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed ~ Hymn

 

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed

Hail to the Lord’s anointed!
Great David’s greater Son;
Hail in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

He comes, with succor speedy
To those who suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in His sight.

By such shall He be fearèd
While sun and moon endure;
Beloved, obeyed, reverèd;
For He shall judge the poor,
Through changing generations,
With justice, mercy, truth;
While stars maintain their stations,
Or moons renew their youth.

He shall come down, like showers
Upon the fruitful earth,
And love, joy, hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth:
Before Him, on the mountains,
Shall Peace, the herald, go,
And righteousness in fountains,
From hill to valley flow.

Arabia’s desert ranger
To Him shall bow the knee;
The Ethiopian stranger
His glory come to see;
With offerings of devotion,
Ships from the isles shall meet,
To pour the wealth of ocean
In tribute at His feet.

Kings shall fall down before Him,
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all people sing;
For He shall have dominion
O’er river, sea and shore,
Far as the eagle’s pinion
Or dove’s light wing can soar.

For Him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end:
The mountain dews shall nourish
A seed in weakness sown,
Whose fruit shall spread and flourish
And shake like Lebanon.

O’er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest;
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all blest.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever,
His name to us is—Love.

Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas Carol

Hallelujah! hark! from above
Angels come on their wings of love;
Loud hosannas welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Glory to God the choral strain;
Glory to God the sweet refrain;
Glory, glory, glory to God!
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Chiming, chiming, hark! ’tis the bells;
Joy to all now their music tells;
Floating onward, greeting the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Hallelujah! joyful we sing,
While we praise our exalted king;
Let our carol welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

Hallelujah tis done, I believe on the son, I’ve been saved by the blood of the crucified one.

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.