Category Archives: Hymns

I Cannot Tell ~ Hymn

I Cannot Tell

I cannot tell why He whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
And so the Savior, Savior of the world is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the brokenhearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet the Savior, Savior of the world is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of East and West, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendor
When He the Savior, Savior of the world is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to Heaven, and Heaven to earth, will answer:
At last the Savior, Savior of the world is king!

Words: William Y. Fullerton, 1929.

Immanuel’s Praise ~ Hymn

Immanuel’s Praise

Jesus, hail! enthroned in glory,
There forever to abide;
All the heav’nly host adore Thee,
Seated at Thy Father’s side;
There for sinners Thou art pleading,
There Thou dost our place prepare;
Ever for us interceding,
Till in glory we appear.

Worship, honor, power and blessing,
Thou art worthy to receive;
Loudest praises without ceasing,
Meet it is for us to give;
Help ye bright angelic spirits,
Bring your sweetest, noblest lays;
Help to sing our Savior’s merits,
Help to chant Immanuel’s praise.

Crown His head with endless blessing,
Who in God the Father’s name
With compassion never ceasing
Comes salvation to proclaim;
Lo! Jehovah, we adore Thee,
Thee our Savior, Thee our God;
From Thy throne the beams of glory
Shine thro’ all the world abroad.

Words: John Bakewell

Be Thou My Vision ~ Hymn

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight;
Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

Words: Attributed to Dallan Forgaill

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus ~ Hymn

Wells Tuesday 115

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!

Refrain

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Refrain

Words: Helen H. Lemmel, 1922.

 

Away With Our Fears, Our Troubles and Tears ~ Hymn

Away With Our Fears, Our Troubles and Tears

Away with our fears,
Our troubles and tears.
The Spirit is come,
The witness of Jesus returned to His home;
The pledge of our Lord
To His Heaven restored
Is sent from the sky,
And tells us our Head is exalted on high.

Our Advocate there
By His blood and His prayer
The gift hath obtained,
For us He hath prayed, and the Comforter gained;
Our glorified Head
His Spirit hath shed
With His people to stay
And never again will He take Him away.

Our heavenly Guide
With us shall abide,
His comforts impart,
And set up His kingdom of love in the heart.
The heart that believes
His kingdom receives
His power and His peace,
His life, and His joy’s everlasting increase.

The presence divine
Doth inwardly shine,
The Shechinah shall rest
On all our assemblies, and glow in our breast;
By day, and by night
The pillar of light
Our steps shall attend,
And convoy us safe to our prosperous end.

Then let us rejoice
In heart and in voice
Our Leader pursue,
And shout as we travel the wilderness through;
With the Spirit remove
To Zion above,
Triumphant arise,
And walk with our God, till we fly to the skies.

Words: Charles Wesley

This is a Whitsunday Hymn and I missed posting it last week.

Clap Hands, O Ye Heavens

Clap Hands, O Ye Heavens

Clap hands, O ye heavens,
Thou firmament ring!
From highest to lowest,
Thou universe sing!
The darkness and tumult
Have ended in calm;
And glory has come,
And victory’s palm.

Refrain

Clap your hands, all ye mountains!
Ye valleys, all ring!
O warble, ye fountains,
Ye little hills, sing!
He liveth again, as truly He said.
Unconquered, unharmed,
He has come from the dead.

Come forth, O ye flowers,
Come forth with the Spring!
And deck the fair plains with
Each blossoming thing.
With violets humble
Let roses be joined,
And marigolds bright,
With lilies combined.

Refrain

Thou song of rejoicing,
Rise higher and higher,
Thou spirit of gladness,
Breathe forth from the lyre.
For Jesus is risen,
As truly He said,
Unconquered, unharmed,
He’s come from the dead.

Refrain

Words: 16th Century

Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart ~ Hymn

Spirit of God, Descend Upon my Heart

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art;
And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
No sudden rending of the veil of clay,
No angel visitant, no opening skies;
But take the dimness of my soul away.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh,
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross; there teach my heart to cling:
O let me seek Thee, and O let me find!

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The kindling of the heaven descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

Words: George Croly, 1854.

When the Roll is Called Up Yonder ~ Hymn

When the Roll is Called Up Yonder

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
And time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather
Over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder,
I’ll be there.

Refrain

When the roll, is called up yonder,
When the roll, is called up yonder,
When the roll, is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder
I’ll be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning
When the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather
To their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder,
I’ll be there.

Refrain

Let us labor for the Master
From the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over,
And our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder,
I’ll be there.

Refrain

He Leadeth Me ~ Hymn

He Leadeth Me

He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Refrain

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.

Refrain

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

Refrain

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

Refrain

Words: Joseph H. Gilmore, 1862.

As a young man who recently had been graduated from Brown University and Newton Theological Institution, I was supplying for a couple of Sundays the pulpit of the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia. At the mid-week service, on the 26th of March, 1862, I set out to give the people an exposition of the Twenty-third Psalm, which I had given before on three or four occasions, but this time I did not get further than the words He Leadeth Me. Those words took hold of me as they had never done before, and I saw them in a significance and wondrous beauty of which I had never dreamed.

It was the darkest hour of the Civil War. I did not refer to that fact—that is, I don’t think I did—but it may subconsciously have led me to realize that God’s leadership is the one significant fact in human experience, that it makes no difference how we are led, or whither we are led, so long as we are sure God is leading us.

At the close of the meeting a few of us in the parlor of my host, good Deacon Wattson, kept on talking about the thought which I had emphasized; and then and there, on a blank page of the brief from which I had intended to speak, I penciled the hymn, talking and writing at the same time, then handed it to my wife and thought no more about it. She sent it to The Watchman and Reflector, a paper published in Boston, where it was first printed. I did not know until 1865 that my hymn had been set to music by William B. Bradbury. I went to Rochester to preach as a candidate before the Second Baptist Church. Going into their chapel on arrival in the city, I picked up a hymnal to see what they were singing, and opened it at my own hymn, He Leadeth Me.

ht: cyberhymnal

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name ~ Hymn

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre,
And as they tune it, fall
Before His face who tunes their choir,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face who tunes their choir,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye morning stars of light,
Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God,
Who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s rod,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s rod,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine,
And crown Him Lord of all,
The God incarnate, Man divine,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
The wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue
Before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song
The crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song
The crownèd Lord of all.

O that, with yonder sacred throng,
We at His feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all,
Join in the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all!

Words: Edward Perronet, 1726-1792.