Category Archives: Hymns

O Thou Who Makest Souls to Shine ~ Hymn

O Thou Who Makest Souls to Shine

O Thou Who makest souls to shine
With light from brighter worlds above,
Now send Thy glistening dew divine
On all who seek a Savior’s love!

Do Thou Thy benediction give
On all who teach, on all who learn,
That all Thy Church may holier live,
And every lamp more brightly burn.

Give those that teach pure hearts and wise,
Faith, hope, and love, all warmed by prayer;
Themselves first training for the skies,
They best will raise their people there.

O bless the shepherd, bless the sheep,
That guide and guided both be one—
One in the faithful watch they keep,
Until this hurrying life be done.

“Ye shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:15

Words: John Armstrong

Stand Fast for Christ Thy Savior ~ Hymn

Stand Fast for Christ Thy Savior

Stand fast for Christ thy Savior!
Stand fast whate’er betide!
Keep thou the Faith, unstained, unshamed,
By keeping at His side;
Be faithful, ever faithful,
Where’er thy lot be cast,

Refrain

Stand fast for Christ thy Savior!
Stand faithful to the last!

Strong founded like a lighthouse,
That stands the storm and shock,
So be thy soul as if it shared
The granite of the rock.
Then far beyond the breakers
Let thy calm light be cast,

Refrain

Stout-hearted like a soldier,
Who never leaves the fight,
But meets the foeman face to face
And meets him with his might,
So bear thee in thy battles
Until the war be past,

Refrain

Stand fast for Christ thy Savior!
He once stood fast for thee,
And standeth still, and still shall stand
For all eternity;
Be faithful, O be faithful,
To love so true, so vast,

Refrain

Words: Walter J. Mathams, 1913

ht: cyberhymnal

Above the Hills of Time ~ Hymn

Above the Hills of Time

Above the hills of time the cross is gleaming,
Fair as the sun when night has turned to day;
And from it love’s pure light is richly streaming,
To cleanse the heart and banish sin away.
To this dear cross the eyes of men are turning,
Today as in the ages lost to sight;
And so for Thee, O Christ, men’s hearts are yearning,
As shipwrecked seamen yearn for morning light.

The cross, O Christ, Thy wondrous love revealing,
Awakes our hearts as with the light of morn,
And pardon o’er our sinful spirits stealing,
Tells us that we, in Thee, have been reborn.
Like echoes to sweet temple bells replying
Our hearts, O Lord, make answer to Thy love;
And we will love Thee with a love undying,
Till we are gathered to Thy home above.

Words: Thomas Tiplady, 1931

Tune: Oh Danny Boy

The Marines’ Hymn

In 1929 The Marines’ Hymn became the official hymn of the Corps. Thirteen years later in November 1942 the Commandant approved a change in the words of the first verse, fourth line. Because of the increasing use of aircraft in the Corps, the words were changed to “In the air, on land, and sea.” No other changes have been made since that time.

From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country’s battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of UNITED STATES MARINES.

Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze,
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job —
The UNITED STATES MARINES.

Here’s health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we’ve fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By UNITED STATES MARINES.

Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, became an ardent admirer of the U.S. Marine Corps. In the company of guests of state, he often demonstrated his respect for U.S. Marines by reciting, from memory, all three verses of The Marines’ Hymn.

We are just back from traveling to the Marine Graduation Ceremony at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island South Carolina. I realize this isn’t my typical Sunday Morning Hymn honoring our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but it fits into our life context this weekend. I’ll be posting more photos from our time in South Carolina soon and my usual Sunday Hymns will commence at 0400 next Sunday. Thank you for your understanding.

As the Sun Doth Daily Rise ~ Hymn

As the Sun Doth Daily Rise

As the sun doth daily rise,
Brightening all the morning skies,
So to Thee with one accord
Lift we up our hearts, O Lord.

Day by day provide us food,
For from Thee come all things good;
Strength unto our souls afford
From Thy living bread, O Lord.

Be our guard in sin and strife;
Be the leader of our life;
Lest from Thee we stray abroad,
Stay our wayward feet, O Lord.

Quickened by the Spirit’s grace
All Thy holy will to trace
While we daily search Thy Word,
Wisdom true impart, O Lord.

Praise we, with the heavenly host,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost;
Thee would we with one accord
Praise and magnify, O Lord.

Words: Unknown

Purer in Heart, O God ~ Hymn

Purer in Heart, O God

Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;
May I devote my life wholly to Thee:
Watch Thou my wayward feet,
Guide me with counsel sweet;
Purer in heart, help me to be.

Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;
Teach me to do Thy will most lovingly;
Be Thou my Friend and Guide,
Let me with Thee abide;
Purer in heart, help me to be.

Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;
Until Thy holy face one day I see:
Keep me from secret sin,
Reign Thou my soul within;
Purer in heart, help me to be.

Words: Fannie E. Davison, in Songs of Gra­ti­tude (Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio: 1877).

Great Is Thy Faithfulness ~ Hymn

 

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

Words: Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923

During our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Summit we enjoyed some hymn singing together. We sang this great hymn and Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow before each of our meals. We found out that 9 out of 10 of us were altos!

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Words: Thomas Ken, 1674

Holy Father, in Thy Mercy ~ Hymn

 

Holy Father, In Thy Mercy

Holy Father, in Thy mercy,
Hear our anxious prayer.
Keep our loved ones, now far distant,
’Neath Thy care.

Jesus, Savior, let Thy presence
Be their light and guide;
Keep, oh, keep them, in their weakness,
At Thy side.

When in sorrow, when in danger,
When in loneliness,
In Thy love look down and comfort
Their distress.

May the joy of Thy salvation
Be their strength and stay;
May they love and may they praise Thee
Day by day.

Holy Spirit, let Thy teaching
Sanctify their life;
Send Thy grace, that they may conquer
In the strife.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
God the One in Three,
Bless them, guide them, save them, keep them
Near to Thee.

Words: Isabella S. Stephenson, 1869

She wrote this hymn af­ter her bro­ther was sent to South Af­ri­ca for health rea­sons. It was sung on the HMS Bac­chante, and pub­lished in the Man­u­al of Com­mon Pray­er at Sea, 1886.

ht: Cyberhymnal

Awake, My Heart, with Gladness ~ Hymn

 

Awake, My Heart, with Gladness

Awake, my heart, with gladness,
See what today is done;
Now, after gloom and sadness,
Comes forth the glorious Sun.
My Savior there was laid
Where our bed must be made
When to the realms of light
Our spirit wings its flight.

The foe in triumph shouted
When Christ lay in the tomb;
But, lo, he now is routed,
His boast is turned to gloom.
For Christ again is free;
In glorious victory
He who is strong to save
Has triumphed o’er the grave.

This is a sight that gladdens;
What peace it doth impart!
Now nothing ever saddens
The joy within my heart.
No gloom shall ever shake,
No foe shall ever take,
The hope which God’s own Son
In love for me hath won.

Now hell, its prince, the devil
Of all their powers are shorn;
Now I am safe from evil,
And sin I laugh to scorn.
Grim Death with all his might
Cannot my soul affright;
He is a powerless form,
Howe’er he rave and storm.

The world against me rageth
Its fury I disdain;
Though bitter war it wageth
Its work is all in vain.
My heart from care is free,
No trouble troubles me.
Misfortune now is play
And night is bright as day.

Now I will cling forever
To Christ, my Savior true;
My Lord will leave me never,
Whate’er He passeth through.
He rends Death’s iron chain,
He breaks through sin and pain,
He shatters hell’s dark thrall,
I follow Him through all.

To halls of heavenly splendor
With Him I penetrate;
And trouble ne’er may hinder
Nor make me hesitate.
Let tempests rage at will,
My Savior shields me still;
He grants abiding peace
And bids all tumult cease.

He brings me to the portal
That leads to bliss untold,
Whereon this rhyme immortal
Is found in script of gold:
“Who there My cross hath shared
Finds here a crown prepared;
Who there with Me hath died
Shall here be glorified.”

Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1648

The King of Love My Shepherd Is ~ Hymn

The King of Love My Shepherd Is

The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.

Words:  Henry W. Baker, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern (London: 1868). This hymn was sung at the fun­er­al of Di­a­na, Prin­cess of Wales, in West­min­ster Ab­bey, Lon­don, Sep­tem­ber 6, 1997. Music: St. Columba, an­cient Ir­ish mel­o­dy

verdant: 1. Green with vegetation; covered with green growth.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.