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

verdant: 1. Green with vegetation; covered with green growth.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Before Thy Mercy Seat, O Lord ~ Hymn

Before Thy Mercy Seat, O Lord

Before Thy mercy seat, O Lord,
Behold, Thy servants stand,
To ask the knowledge of Thy Word,
The guidance of Thy hand.

Let Thy eternal truths, we pray,
Dwell richly in each heart;
That from the safe and narrow way
We never may depart.

Lord, from Thy Word remove the seal,
Unfold its hidden store,
And as we read, teach us to feel
Its value more and more.

Help us to see a Savior’s love
Shine forth from every page,
And let the thoughts of joys above
Our inmost souls engage.

Thus, while Thy Word our footsteps guides,
Shall we be truly blest,
And soon arrive where love provides
An everlasting rest.

Thy Word Is Like A Garden, Lord ~ Hymn

 

Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord, with flowers bright and fair;
And every one who seeks may pluck a lovely cluster there.
Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine; and jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in its mighty depths for every searcher there.

Thy Word is like a starry host: a thousand rays of light
Are seen to guide the traveler and make his pathway bright.
Thy Word is like an armory, where soldiers may repair;
And find, for life’s long battle day, all needful weapons there.

O may I love Thy precious Word, may I explore the mine,
May I its fragrant flowers glean, may light upon me shine!
O may I find my armor there! Thy Word my trusty sword,
I’ll learn to fight with every foe the battle of the Lord.

Words: Edwin Holder (1837-1904)

Lord, Whom Winds and Waves Obey ~ Hymn

 

Lord, Whom Winds and Waves Obey

Lord, whom winds and waves obey,
Guide us through the watery way;
In the hollow of Thy hand
Hide, and bring us safe to land.

Jesus, let our faithful mind
Rest, on Thee alone reclined;
Every anxious thought repress,
Keep our souls in perfect peace.

Keep the souls whom now we leave,
Bid them to each other cleave;
Bid them walk on life’s rough sea;
Bid them come by faith to Thee.

Save, till all these tempests end,
All who on Thy love depend;
Waft our happy spirits o’er;
Land us on the heavenly shore.

Words: Charles Wesley, 1782.

Redeemed, Restored, Forgiven ~ Hymn

Redeemed, Restored, Forgiven

Redeemed, restored, forgiven,
Through Jesus’ precious blood,
Heirs of His home in heaven,
Oh, praise our pardoning God!
Praise Him in tuneful measures
Who gave His Son to die;
Praise Him Whose sev’nfold treasures
Enrich and sanctify.

Once on the dreary mountain
We wandered far and wide,
Far from the cleansing fountain,
Far from the piercèd side;
But Jesus sought and found us
And washed our guilt away;
With cords of love He bound us
To be His own for aye.

Dear Master, Thine the glory
Of each recovered soul,
Ah! who can tell the story
Of love that made us whole?
Not ours, not ours, the merit;
Be Thine alone the praise
And ours a thankful spirit
To serve Thee all our days.

Now keep us, holy Savior,
In Thy true love and fear
And grant us of Thy favor
The grace to persevere
Till, in Thy new creation,
Earth’s time-long travail o’er,
We find our full salvation
And praise Thee evermore
.

Words: Henry W. Baker, writ­ten at Kil­lar­ney in Sep­tem­ber 1876, pub­lished in the Monk­land Par­ish Mag­a­zine, No­vem­ber 1876.

Now the Shades of Night Are Gone ~ Hymn

Now the Shades of Night Are Gone

Now the shades of night are gone
Now the morning light is come.
Lord, may we be Thine today;
Drive the shades of sin away.

Fill our souls with heav’nly light,
Banish doubt and cleanse our sight.
In Thy service, Lord, today
Help us labor, help us pray.

Keep our haughty passions bound,
Save us from our foes around;
Going out and coming in,
Keep us safe from every sin.

When our work of life is past,
Oh, receive us safe at last!
Night of sin will be no more,
When we reach the heav’nly shore.

Words attributed to Samson Occom (1723-1792)

I With Thee Would Begin ~ Hymn

I With Thee Would Begin

I with Thee would begin, O my Savior so dear,
On the way that I still must pursue;
I with Thee would begin every day granted here,
As my earnest resolve I renew
To be and remain Thine forever.

I with Thee would begin and go forth in Thy Name,
Which alone doth salvation bestow;
Fold me close to Thy breast where found joy all who came,
There is refuge for me, too, I know,
Though all in this world is confusion.

Let Thy Word all divine be my lamp in whose light
I may constantly keep to Thy way;
And each day wouldst Thou cleanse me anew, make me white
In the blood shed for me on that day
The cross Thou didst suffer, Lord Jesus.

I with Thee would begin—yea, and hear one more prayer,
I would close with Thee, too, my brief day,
And when daylight has failed, let me sleep in Thy care,
Until waking Thy child Thou dost say,
“Come, live with Me ever in Heaven.”

words: Karolina W. Sandall-Berg, circa 1875, translated from Swedish to English A. Samuel Walgren (1885-1940), music W. Theodor Soderberg, 1884.

ht: Cyberhymnal

I read this paragraph by Cliff Barrows about this hymn in Crusader Hymns and Hymn Stories;

“In its original form, this is a Swedish hymn. Because the translation is literal, you may find that the sentence structure is occasionally inverted and the meaning is a bit obscure. But if you make the effort to understand, you will find that it is a prayer that we may start anew- right now – in the strength of Christ with guidance from His Word. And if you take the trouble to sing it, you will enjoy its “Swedish style” melody.”

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

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.

Come, Heaven-Bound Pilgrims ~ Hymn

Come, Heaven-Bound Pilgrims

Come, Heaven-bound pilgrims, and join in God’s praise,
Come seek now His blessing and learn of His ways,
In humble devotion bow low at His feet,
In true spirit worship, His favor entreat.

Let each one consider the price we have cost,
Let each one be burdened with souls that are lost,
And seek that infilling of pow’r from above,
That fits us for service and fills us with love.

Remember each other in true, fervent prayer,
Pray too for God’s servants that they may declare
The message of truth with an anxious desire,
That all be enkindled with heavenly fire.

O gracious Redeemer, be with us we pray,
Breathe on us Thy Spirit to show us the way,
And fill us with goodness, with peace and delight,
That all to Thy glory may shine as a light.

Words: John M. Shenk. 1902