Category Archives: Hymns

O for a Closer Walk with God ~ Hymn

O for a Closer Walk with God

O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus, and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.

Words: William Cowper, 1772.

My Lord, How Full of Sweet Content ~ Hymn

My Lord, How Full of Sweet Content

My Lord, how full of sweet content;
I pass my years of banishment!
Where’er I dwell, I dwell with Thee,
In Heaven, in earth, or on the sea.

To me remains nor place nor time;
My country is in every clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.

While place we seek, or place we shun
The soul finds happiness in none;
But with a God to guide our way,
’Tis equal joy, to go or stay.

Could I be cast where Thou are not,
That were indeed a dreadful lot:
But regions none remote I call,
Secure of finding God in all.

Words: Madame Guyon, 1722.

My Father Watches Over Me ~ Hymn

My Father Watches Over Me

I trust in God wherever I may be,
Upon the land, or on the rolling sea,
For come what may, from day to day,
My heav’nly Father watches over me.

Refrain

I trust in God, I know He cares for me;
On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
Tho’ billows roll, He keeps my soul;
My heav’nly Father watches over me.

He makes the rose an object of His care,
He guides the eagle thro’ the pathless air,
And surely He remembers me;
My heav’nly Father watches over me.

Refrain

I trust in God, for, in the lion’s den,
On battlefield, or in the prison pen,
Thro’ praise or blame, thro’ flood or flame,
My heav’nly Father watches over me.

Refrain

The valley may be dark, the shadows deep,
But O, the Shepherd guards His lonely sheep;
And thro’ the gloom He’ll lead me home,
My heav’nly Father watches over me.

Refrain

Words: William C. Martin (1910)

God Holds the Key ~ Hymn

God Holds the Key

God holds the key of all unknown,
And I am glad;
If other hands should hold the key,
Or if He trusted it to me,
I might be sad, I might be sad.

What if tomorrow’s cares were here
Without its rest?
I’d rather He unlocked the day
And, as the hours swing open, say,
“My will is best, My will is best.”

The very dimness of my sight
Makes me secure;
For, groping in my misty way,
I feel His hand; I hear Him say,
“My help is sure, My help is sure.”

I cannot read His future plans,
But this I know:
I have the smiling of His face
And all the refuge of His grace
While here below, while here below.

Enough! this covers all my wants,
And so I rest!
For what I cannot, He can see,
And in His care I saved shall be,
Forever blest, forever blest.

Words: Joseph Parker

The Promised Land ~ Hymn

The Promised Land

Far from these narrow scenes of night
Unbounded glories rise,
And realms of infinite delight
Unknown to mortal eyes.

Far distant land—could mortal eyes
But half its joys explore,
How would our spirits long to rise,
And dwell on earth no more!

There pain and sickness never come,
And grief no more complains!
Health triumphs in immortal bloom,
And endless pleasure reigns!

From discord free and war’s alarms,
And want and pining care,
Plenty and peace unite their charms,
And smile unchanging there.

There rich varieties of joy,
Continual feast the mind;
Pleasures which fill, but never cloy,
Immortal and refined!

No factious strife, no envy there,
The sons of peace molest,
But harmony and love sincere,
Fill every happy breast.

No cloud those blissful regions know,
For ever bright and fair!
For sin, the source of mortal woe,
Can never enter there.

There no alternate night is known,
Nor sun’s faint sickly ray;
But glory from the sacred throne
Spreads everlasting day.

That glorious Monarch there displays
His beams of wondrous grace;
His happy subjects sing His praise,
And bow before His face.

O may the heavenly prospect fire
Our hearts with ardent love,
Till wings of faith and strong desire
Bear every thought above.

Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine,
For Thy bright courts on high;
Then bid our spirits rise and join
The chorus of the sky.

Words: Anne Steele, 1760.

Mighty Army of the Young ~ Hymn

Mighty Army of the Young

Mighty army of the young,
Lift your voice in cheerful song,
Send the welcome word along,
Jesus lives!
Once He died for you and me,
Bore our sins upon the tree,
Now He lives to make us free,
Jesus lives!

Refrain

Wait not till the shadows lengthen,
Till you older grow,
Rally now and sing for Jesus,
Everywhere you go;
Lift your joyful voices high,
Ringing clear thro’ earth and sky,
Let the blessèd tidings fly,
Jesus lives!

Voice of youth so glad and free,
Sing your song of victory;
Sing to all on land and sea,
Jesus lives!
Light for you and all mankind,
Sight of all by sin made blind,
Life in Jesus all may find,
Jesus lives!

Refrain

Jesus lives, O blessèd words!
King of kings, and Lord of lords!
Lift the cross and sheathe the swords,
Jesus lives!
See, He breaks the prison wall,
Throws aside the dreadful pall,
Conquers death at once for all,
Jesus lives!

Refrain

Words: John R. Colgan (1891)

Begin, My Tongue, Some Heav’nly Theme ~ Hymn

Begin, My Tongue, Some Heav’nly Theme

Begin, my tongue, some heav’nly theme
And speak some boundless thing;
The mighty works, or mightier name
Of our eternal king.

Tell of His wondrous faithfulness
And sound His power abroad;
Sing the sweet promise of His grace,
And the performing God.

Proclaim salvation from the Lord
For wretched, dying men;
His hand has writ the sacred Word
With an immortal pen.

Engraved as in eternal brass
The mighty promise shines;
Nor can the powers of darkness rase
Those everlasting lines.

He that can dash whole worlds to death,
And make them when He please,
He speaks, and that almighty breath
Fulfills His great decrees.

His very word of grace is strong
As that which built the skies;
The voice that rolls the stars along
Speaks all the promises.

He said, Let the wide heav’n be spread,
And heav’n was stretched abroad:
Abram, I’ll be thy God, He said,
And He was Abram’s God.

O might I hear Thine heav’nly tongue
But whisper, Thou art Mine!
Those gentle words shall raise my song
To notes almost divine.

How would my leaping heart rejoice,
And think my heav’n secure!
I trust the all-creating voice,
And faith desires no more.

Words: Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

God Make My Life A Little Light ~Hymn

God Make My Life A Little Light

God make my life a little light
Within the world to glow;
A little flame that burneth bright,
Wherever I may go.

God make my life a little flower
That giveth joy to all,
Content to bloom in native bower,
Although the place be small.

God make my life a little song
That comforteth the sad,
That helpeth others to be strong,
And makes the singer glad.

God make my life a little staff
Whereon the weak may rest,
That so what health and strength I have
May serve my neighbors best.

God make my life a little hymn
Of tenderness and praise,
Of faith, that never waxeth dim,
In all His wondrous ways.

Amen.

Words: Matilda B.B. Edwards

God Moves In Mysterious Ways ~ Hymn

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;2
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Words: William Cowper, 1773.

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy ~ Hymn

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in God’s justice
Which is more than liberty.
There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measures of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple
We should take him at his word,
And our lives would be illumined
By the presence of our Lord.

Troubled souls, why will you scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts! why will you wander
From a love so true and deep?
There is welcome for the sinner
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Savior,
There is healing in his blood.

Words: Frederick W. Faber