When Shades of Night Around Us Close ~ Advent Hymn

When Shades of Night Around Us close

When shades of night around us close,
And weary limbs in sleep repose,
The faithful soul awake may be,
And longing sigh, O Lord, to Thee.

Thou true Desire of nations, hear,
Thou Word of God, Thou Savior dear;
In pity heed our humble cries,
And bid at length the fallen rise.

O come, Redeemer, come and free
Thine own from guilt and misery;
The gates of Heav’n again unfold,
Which Adam’s sin had closed of old.

All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

Words: Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary, 1736 (In noctis umbrâ desides); translated from Latin to English by the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861.

My God, I Thank Thee ~ Hymn

My God, I Thank Thee

My God, I thank Thee, who hast made
The earth so bright,
So full of splendor and of joy,
Beauty and light;
So many glorious things are here,
Noble and right.

I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made
Joy to abound;
So many gentle thoughts and deeds
Circling us round,
That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain,
That shadows fall on brightest hours,
That thorns remain;
So that earth’s bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain.

For thou who knowest, Lord, how soon
Our weak heart clings,
Hast given us joys, tender and true,
Yet all with wings;
So that we see gleaming on high
Diviner things.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept
The best in store;
We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more:
A yearning for a deeper peace
Not known before.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls
Though amply blessed,
Can never find, although they seek
A perfect rest;
Nor ever shall, until they lean
On Jesus’ breast

Words: Adelaide A. Procter, Legends and Lyrics, a Book of Verse, 1858.

ht: cyberhymnal

He Giveth More Grace ~ Hymn

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

words: Annie J. Flint (1866-1932)

We are just wrapping up a study on grace in my Friday morning Bible study and this song really reinforces what we’ve been re-learning about God’s amazing grace.

Jesus, My Only Hope ~ Hymn

I’m so thankful for Jesus, my only true hope!

Jesus, My Only Hope

Jesus, my only Hope, Friend ever dear,
Bend to my earnest prayer Thy gracious ear;
Come from Thy throne above, come and my dross remove,
Fill me with perfect love, Savior, to Thee.

Jesus, my only Hope, grant me Thy grace,
Teach me in joy and pain Thy hand to trace;
Keep Thou my heart in peace, bid ev’ry murmur cease,
Come and my faith increase, Savior, in Thee.

Jesus, my only Hope, Jesus, my King,
Help me with heart and voice Thy praise to sing;
Now let Thy beams divine bright o’er my pathway shine,
Draw me, O Savior mine, closer to Thee.

Jesus, my only Hope, be Thou my Guest;
Under Thy mighty wings, O let me rest,
Rest till the angel band home to the promised land
Bears me at Thy command, Savior, to Thee.

Words by Fanny Crosby

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns ~ Hymn

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light triumphant breaks;
When beauty gilds the eastern hills,
And life to joy awakes.

Not as of old a little child
To bear, and fight, and die,
But crowned with glory like the sun
That lights the morning sky.

O brighter than the rising morn
When He, victorious, rose,
And left the lonesome place of death,
Despite the rage of foes.

O brighter than that glorious morn
Shall this fair morning be,
When Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
And we His face shall see.

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And earth’s dark night is past;
O haste the rising of that morn,
The day that aye shall last.

And let the endless bliss begin,
By weary saints foretold,
When right shall triumph over wrong,
And truth shall be extolled.

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light and beauty brings:
Hail, Christ the Lord! Thy people pray,
Come quickly, King of kings.

Words: Unknown author; translated from Greek to English by John Brownlie in Hymns of the Russian Church, 1907.

ht: cyberhymnal

We Thank Thee, Lord, For This Fair Earth ~ Hymn

We Thank Thee, Lord, For This Fair Earth

We thank Thee, Lord, for this fair earth,
The glittering sky, the silver sea;
For all their beauty, all their worth,
Their light and glory, come from Thee.

Thine are the flowers that clothe the ground,
The trees that wave their arms above,
The hills that gird our dwellings round,
As Thou dost gird Thine own with love.

Yet teach us still how far more fair,
More glorious, Father, in Thy sight,
Is one pure deed, one holy prayer,
One heart that owns Thy Spirit’s might.

So while we gaze with thoughtful eye
On all the gifts Thy love has given,
Help us in Thee to live and die,
By Thee to rise from earth to Heaven.

Words: George E. L. Cotton, in Hymns for Use in the Chapel of Marlborough College, 1856.

Ht: Cyberhymnal

I want to wish all my Canadian Bloggin Friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. I know some of you are celebrating today and maybe some of you will be celebrating tomorrow. May God bless you richly with a thankful heart and gratitude towards Him!

Am I a Soldier of the Cross ~ Hymn

Am I a Soldier of the Cross

Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.

Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith’s discerning eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.

~ Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts wrote this hymn in conjunction with a sermon he was giving on I Corinthians 16:13 (published 1721-4)

I Corinthians 16:13 ~ “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”

ht: Cyberhymnal

Love Constrained to Obedience ~ Hymn

Love constrained to Obedience

No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright:
And what she has she misapplies,
For want of clearer light.

How long beneath the law I lay
In bondage and distress;
I toll’d the precept to obey,
But toil’d without success.

Then, to abstain from outward sin
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power within,
I feel I hate it too.

Then all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the Son,
I freely choose His ways.

“What shall I do,” was then the word,
“That I may worthier grow?”
“What shall I render to the Lord?”
Is my inquiry now.

To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And hear His pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.

~ William Cowper

O Christ, Who Hast Prepared A Place ~ Hymn

John 14: 1-6 ~ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answererd, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

O Christ, Who Hast Prepared A Place

O Christ, who hast prepared a place
For us around Thy throne of grace,
We pray Thee, lift our hearts above,
And draw them with the cords of love.

Source of all good, Thou, gracious Lord,
Art our exceeding great reward;
How transient is our present pain,
How boundless our eternal gain!

With open face and joyful heart,
We then shall see Thee as Thou art:
Our love shall never cease to glow,
Our praise shall never cease to flow.

Thy never-failing grace to prove,
A surety of Thine endless love,
Send down Thy Holy Ghost, to be
The raiser of our souls to Thee.

Words: Jean B. de Santeüil, in the Paris Breviary, 1686, p. 503 (Nobis, Olympo redditus); translated from Latin to English by John Chandler, Hymns of the Primitive Church, 1837, p. 86.

ht: cyberhymnal

This World Is Not My Home ~ Hymn

The illustration, above, is from Virginia Lee Burton’s The Little House, the story of a little house that found a home.

Rebecca from Rebecca Writes has a September theme of Home going on at her blog. For the rest of the month on Tuesdays and Fridays she’s featuring posts about the Home on her blog. This is my contribution for today. We sang this song in the 60’s and 70’s. It brings back lots of memories. If you post something about “Home” let her know.

This World Is Not My Home

This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Chorus
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

They’re all expecting me and that’s one thing I know.
My Savior pardoned me and now I onward go.
I know He’ll take me through, though I am weak and poor.

Chorus
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Just up in Glory Land we’ll live eternally.
The Saints on every hand are shouting victory.
Their song of sweetest praise drifts back from Heaven’s shore
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Chorus
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Hymns

When Shades of Night Around Us Close ~ Advent Hymn