Tag Archives: Sunday Hymn

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

Awake My Heart; Arise, My Tongue ~ Hymn

Awake My Heart; Arise, My Tongue

Awake, my heart; arise, my tongue,
Prepare a tuneful voice;
In God, the life of all my joys,
Aloud will I rejoice.

’Tis He adorned my naked soul,
And made salvation mine;
Upon a poor polluted worm
He makes His graces shine.

And lest the shadow of a spot
Should on my soul be found,
He took the robe the Savior wrought,
And cast it all around.

How far the heav’nly robe exceeds
What earthly princes wear!
These ornaments, how bright they shine!
How white the garments are!

The Spirit wrought my faith, and love,
And hope, and every grace;
But Jesus spent His life to work
The robe of righteousness.

Strangely, my soul, art thou arrayed
By the great Sacred Three!
In sweetest harmony of praise
Let all thy powers agree.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1707

As With Gladness, Men of Old ~ Hymn

As With Gladness, Men of Old

As with gladness, men of old
Did the guiding star behold
As with joy they hailed its light
Leading onward, beaming bright
So, most glorious Lord, may we
Evermore be led to Thee.

As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly manger bed
There to bend the knee before
Him Whom Heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.

As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King.

Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.

In the heavenly country bright,
Need they no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down;
There forever may we sing
Alleluias to our King!

Words: William C. Dix, 1860

He wrote this hymn on the day of the Epi­pha­ny, while sick in bed; it was first pub­lished in his Hymns of Love and Joy.

I Hear the Words of Love ~ Hymn

I Hear the Words of Love

I hear the words of love,
I gaze upon the blood,
I see the mighty sacrifice,
And I have peace with God.

’Tis everlasting peace!
Sure as Jehovah’s name,
’Tis stable as His steadfast throne,
For evermore the same.

The clouds may go and come,
And storms may sweep my sky;
This blood-sealed friendship changes not,
The cross is ever nigh.

My love is ofttimes low,
My joy still ebbs and flows;
But peace with Him remains the same,
No change Jehovah knows.

That which can shake the cross
May shake the peace it gave,
Which tells me Christ has never died,
Or never left the grave!

Till then my peace is sure,
It will not, cannot yield,
Jesus, I know, has died and lives—
On this firm rock I build.

I change, He changes not,
The Christ can never die;
His love, not mine, the resting place,
His truth, not mine, the tie.

The cross still stands unchanged,
Though Heav’n is now His home,
The mighty stone is rolled away,
But yonder is His tomb!

And yonder is my peace,
The grave of all my woes!
I know the Son of God has come,
I know He died and rose.

I know He liveth now,
At God’s right hand above,
I know the throne on which He sits,
I know His truth and love.

Words: Horatius Bonar, (1808-1889)

Happy New Year everyone!

Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth.
~Martin Luther