Category Archives: Hymns

What God Hath Promised ~ Hymn

What God Hath Promised

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

Refrain

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

Refrain

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

Words by Annie J. Flint 1919

God Holds the Future in His Hands ~ Hymn

 

God Holds the Future in His Hands

Dread not the things that are ahead,
The burdens great, the sinking sands,
The thorns that o’er the path are spread,
God holds the future in His hands.

Refrain

God holds the future in His hands
And every heart He understands.
On Him depend,
He is your Friend,
He holds the future in His hands.

We know not what tomorrow hides,
Of sun or storm or good or ill;
We only know His dear hand guides,
And He will be our Father still.

Refrain

His hand created earth and sky,
The zephyrs and the storms that rage,
And years to come and years gone by
To Him are but an open page.

Refrain

Live close to Him and trust His love,
Assured that while on earth we roam,
Whate’er may come, He bends above
To guide His children safely home.

Refrain

Words by James Rowe, 1922.

Zephyrs are west winds in case you were wondering…

Shine Thou Upon Us Lord ~ Hymn

 

Shine Thou Upon Us Lord

Shine Thou upon us, Lord, true Light of men, today,
And through the written Word Thy very self display,
That so from hearts which burn with gazing on Thy face
Thy little ones may learn the wonders of Thy grace.

Breathe Thou upon us, Lord, Thy Spirit’s living flame,
That so with one accord our lips may tell Thy Name.
Give Thou the hearing ear, fix Thou the wandering thought,
That those we teach may hear the great things Thou hast wrought.

Speak Thou for us, O Lord, in all we say of Thee;
According to Thy Word let all our teaching be,
That so Thy lambs may know their own true Shepherd’s voice,
Where’er He leads them go, and in His love rejoice.

Live Thou within us, Lord, Thy mind and will be ours;
Be Thou beloved, adored, and served with all our powers,
That so our lives may teach Thy children what Thou art,
And plead, by more than speech, for Thee with every heart.

words by John Ellerton, 1889

For the Beauty of the Earth ~ Hymn

For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.

Refrain

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light.

Refrain

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight.

Refrain

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild.

Refrain

For Thy Church, that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love.

Refrain

For the martyrs’ crown of light,
For Thy prophets’ eagle eye,
For Thy bold confessors’ might,
For the lips of infancy.

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For Thy virgins’ robes of snow,
For Thy maiden mother mild,
For Thyself, with hearts aglow,
Jesu, Victim undefiled.

Refrain

For each perfect gift of Thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of Heaven.

Refrain

Words by Folliot S. Pierpoint ~

The Love of God ~ Hymn

 

The Love of God

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Refrain

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Refrain

ht: Cyberhymnal

Words: Fred­er­ick M. Leh­man; he wrote this song in 1917 in Pas­a­de­na, Cal­i­fornia, and it was pub­lished in Songs That Are Dif­fer­ent, Vol­ume 2, 1919. The lyr­ics are based on the Jew­ish poem Had­da­mut, writ­ten in Ara­ma­ic in 1050 by Meir Ben Isaac Ne­hor­ai, a can­tor in Worms, Ger­ma­ny; they have been trans­lat­ed in­to at least 18 lang­uages.

One day, dur­ing short in­ter­vals of in­at­ten­tion to our work, we picked up a scrap of pa­per and, seat­ed up­on an emp­ty le­mon box pushed against the wall, with a stub pen­cil, add­ed the (first) two stan­zas and chor­us of the song…Since the lines (3rd stan­za from the Jew­ish po­em) had been found pen­ciled on the wall of a pa­tient’s room in an in­sane asy­lum af­ter he had been car­ried to his grave, the gen­er­al opin­ion was that this in­mate had writ­ten the epic in mo­ments of san­ity.

Frederick M. Lehman, “History of the Song, The Love of God,” 1948

This is My Father’s World ~ Hymn

This is My Father’s World

This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
he shines in all that’s fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Text: Maltbie D. Babcock
Music: Trad. English melody; adapt. by Franklin L. Sheppard
Tune: TERRA BEATA, Meter: SMD

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.

Out in the Sunshine ~ Hymn

Out in the Sunshine

words by Fanny Crosby

Out in the sunshine of infinite love,
Breathing the fragrance of Eden above;
I am so happy, O Savior divine,
Living or dying, to know I am Thine.

Refrain

Yes, I am Thine, Lord, I am Thine,
Living or dying, I know I am Thine.

Out in the sunshine, though shadows may fall,
Yet will I thank Thee and praise Thee for all;
Never, no, never my heart shall repine,
Living or dying, I know I am Thine.

Refrain

Out in the sunshine sweet music I hear,
Tenderly wafting a song on my ear;
Oh, what a blessèd assurance is mine,
Living or dying, I know I am Thine.

Refrain

Out in the sunshine by faith I can see,
Mansions in glory preparing for me;
O my Redeemer, what rapture is mine,
Living or dying, I know I am Thine.

Refrain

Spirit of Holiness, Descend ~ Hymn

Spirit of holiness, descend:
Thy people wait for Thee;
Thine ear in kind compassion lend;
Let us Thy mercy see.

Thy light that on our souls hath shone,
Lead us in hope to Thee;
Let us not feel its rays alone,
Alone Thy people be.

O bring our dearest friends to God;
Remember those we love;
Fit them on earth for Thine abode,
Fit them for joys above.

Spirit of holiness, ’tis Thine
To hear our feeble prayer;
Come, for we wait Thy power divine,
Let us Thy mercy share.

words by Samuel F. Smith, 1841

The photo above is a reflection of the sky on the surface of Lake Washington.

Buried With Christ ~ Hymn

Buried With Christ

(words by T. Ryder)

Buried with Christ and raised with Him, too,
What is there left for me to do?
Simply to cease from struggling and strife,
Simply to walk in newness of life.

Refrain

Buried with Christ and dead unto sin;
Dying but living, Jesus within;
Ruling and reigning day after day,
Guiding and keeping all of the way.

Risen with Christ my glorious Head,
Holiness now the pathway I tread;
Beautiful thought from walking therein,
He that is dead is freed from all sin.

Refrain

Living with Christ, who dieth no more,
Following Christ, who goeth before;
Not under law, I’m now under grace,
Sin is dethroned, and Christ takes its place.

Refrain

Summer Suns Are Glowing ~ Hymn

Summer Suns Are Glowing

Summer suns are glowing over land and sea;
Happy light is flowing, bountiful and free;
Everything rejoices in the mellow rays;
Earth’s ten thousand voices swell the psalm of praise.

God’s free mercy streameth over all the world,
And His banner gleameth, by His church unfurled;
Broad and deep and glorious, as the heaven above,
Shines in might victorious His eternal love.

Lord, upon our blindness Thy pure radiance pour;
For Thy lovingkindness we would love Thee more;
And when clouds are drifting dark across the sky,
Then, the veil uplifting, Father, be Thou nigh.

We will never doubt Thee, though Thou veil Thy light;
Life is dark without Thee, death with Thee is bright;
Light of light, shine o’er us on our pilgrim way;
Go Thou still before us to the endless day.

words by William W. How (1871)