Category Archives: Hymns

Sweetly the Holy Hymn

Sweetly the Holy Hymn

Sweetly the holy hymn
Breaks on the morning air;
Before the world with smoke is dim
We meet to offer prayer.

While flowers are wet with dews,
Dew of our souls, descend:
Ere yet the sun the day renews,
O Lord, Thy Spirit send.

Upon the battlefield,
Before the fight begins,
We seek, O Lord, Thy sheltering shield,
To guard us from our sins.

Ere yet our vessel sails
Upon the stream of day
We plead, O Lord, for heavenly gales
To speed us on our way!

On the lone mountain side,
Before the morning’s light,
The Man of sorrows wept and cried,
And rose refreshed with might.

Oh, hear us then, for we
Are very weak and frail,
We make the Savior’s Name our plea,
And surely must prevail.

Words: Charles H. Spurgeon, 1866.

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

Barbara from Stray Thoughts sent me the lyrics to this hymn when a couple blogger comments mentioned Verdant on my Outdoor Post last week and I talked about learning a new word. She had recalled that this was the hymn where she remembered the word verdant from. Thanks Barbara.

Sun of My Soul ~ Hymn

Sun of My Soul

Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,
It is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes!

When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My weary eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
Forever on my Savior’s breast!

Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.

Be near to bless me when I wake,
Ere thru the world my way I take;
Abide with me till in Thy love
I lose myself in heav’n above.

John Keble/ Katholisches Gesangbuch

It Is Well With My Soul ~ Hymn

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

Words: Ho­ra­tio G. Spaf­ford, 1873.

This hymn was writ­ten af­ter two ma­jor trau­mas in Spaf­ford’s life. The first was the great Chi­ca­go Fire of Oc­to­ber 1871, which ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly (he had been a weal­thy bus­i­ness­man). Short­ly af­ter, while cross­ing the At­lan­tic, all four of Spaf­ford’s daugh­ters died in a col­li­sion with an­o­ther ship. Spaf­ford’s wife Anna sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, “Saved alone.” Sev­er­al weeks lat­er, as Spaf­ford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daugh­ters died, the Ho­ly Spir­it in­spired these words. They speak to the eter­nal hope that all be­liev­ers have, no mat­ter what pain and grief be­fall them on earth.

We sang this at Sophie Wozniuk’s Funeral on Wednesday and I decided to share it for my Sunday Hymn.

Have You Not Known, Have You Not Heard ~ Hymn

Have You Not Known, Have You Not Heard

Have you not known, have you not heard
That firm remains on high
The everlasting throne of Him
Who formed the earth and sky?

Are you afraid His power shall fail
When comes your evil day?
And can an all creating arm
Grow weary or decay?

Supreme in wisdom as in power
The Rock of Ages stands,
Though Him you cannot see, nor trace
The working of His hands.

He gives the conquest to the weak,
Supports the fainting heart;
And courage in the evil hour
His heavenly aids impart.

Mere human power shall fast decay,
And youthful vigor cease;
But they who wait upon the Lord
In strength shall still increase.

They with unwearied feet shall tread
The path of life divine;
With growing ardor onward move,
With growing brightness shine.

On eagles’ wings they mount, they soar,
Their wings are faith and love;
Till, past the cloudy regions here,
They rise to Heav’n above.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1707; alt. in Scot­tish Par­a­phras­es, 1781.

Christ By Heavenly Hosts Adored ~ Hymn

Christ By Heavenly Hosts Adored

Christ, by heav’nly hosts adored,
Gracious, mighty, sovereign Lord,
God of nations, King of kings,
Head of all created things,
By the Church with joy confessed,
God o’er all, forever blessed.
Pleading at Thy throne we stand,
Save Thy people, bless our land.

On our fields of grass and grain
Send, O Lord, the kindly rain;
O’er our wide and goodly land
Crown the labors of each hand.
Let Thy kind protection be
O’er our commerce on the sea.
Open, Lord, Thy bounteous hand;
Bless Thy people, bless our land.

Let our rulers ever be
Men that love and honor Thee;
Let the powers by Thee ordained
Be in righteousness maintained.
In the people’s hearts increase
Love of piety and peace.
Thus united, may we stand
One wide, free, and happy land.

Words by Henry Harbaugh, 1860

The Soul Cheering Promise ~ Hymn

The Soul Cheering Promise
(words by Fanny Crosby)

We know not the trials before us,
But Jesus takes thought for them all,
And trusting the aid of His counsel,
We never, no, never can fall;
We know not the trials before us,
Or what on the morrow may be,
But sweet is the soul cheering promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Refrain

Then cleave to the Savior, cleave to Him,
Whatever the conflict may be,
Remember the soul cheering promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

We know not the trials before us,
But why; should we tremble or fear?
The arm of the Lord will protect us,
The ark of His mercy is near;
We know not the trials before us,
Or what our temptations may be,
But stronger than death is the promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Refrain

We know not the trials before us,
The sorrows and cares we shall meet,
But O there’s a refuge in Jesus,
Though surges may break at our feet;
How blessèd that refuge forever
Where safe from the storm we shall be,
The password to life is the promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Refrain

II Corinthians 12:9 ~ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

I’m on the road somewhere between Clovis, California and Seattle Washington today so I’m doing a re-post of this hymn. We should arrive in Seattle sometime tonight…

Rise Up, O Men of God! ~ Hymn

Rise Up, O Men Of God!

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings.

Rise up, O men of God!
The kingdom tarries long.
Bring in the day of brotherhood
And end the night of wrong.

Rise up, O men of God!
The church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task;
Rise up and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where His feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up, O men of God!

~ William P. Merrill, 1911

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 his 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

Fairest Lord Jesus ~ Hymn

Fairest Lord Jesus

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast.

All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,
Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;
None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,
Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forever more be Thine.