Category Archives: Hymns

A HYMN FOR TODAY – Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six-winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the Presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia, LORD Most High!,

8.7.8.7.8.7. – Liturgy of St. James, 350

tr. Gerard Moultrie, 1864

Tune: PICARDY – French Folk Melody

arr. C. E. Couchman, 2011

#175 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

A HYMN FOR TODAY — Give Me the Wings of Faith to Rise

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

Give me the wings of faith to rise
Within the veil, and see
The saints above, how great their joys,
How bright their glories be.
Once they were mourning here below,
And drenched their couch with tears:
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins and doubts and fears.

I ask them whence their vict’ry came;
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to His death.
Our glorious leader claims our praise
For His own pattern giv’n,
While yet His cloud of witnesses
Show the same path to heav’n.

CMD (8.6.8.6.D) – Isaac Watts, 1707

Tune: FOREST GREEN – English Folk Tune

arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906, alt.

#726 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

This hymn was originally written as four CM verses, now combined to make two CMD verses to fit the music of FOREST GREEN.

A HYMN FOR TODAY – O For a Heart To Praise My God

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

O for a heart to praise my God,

A heart from sin set free,

A heart that always feels the blood

So freely shed for me.

A heart resigned, submissive, meek,

My great Redeemer’s throne,

Where only Christ is heard to speak,

Where Jesus reigns alone.

A heart in every thought renewed,

And full of love divine,

Complete and right and pure and good,

A copy, Lord, of Thine.

Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart;

Come quickly from above;

Write Thy new name upon my heart,

Thy new, best name of Love.

CMD, Charles Wesley, 1742

Tune: GOSHEN, 1789, arr. Charles Willis, 2011

#492 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

A HYMN FOR TODAY – Our Day of Praise Is Done

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Tune: St. Thomas (use with “Our Day of Praise Is Done” (Ellerton)

A HYMN FOR TODAY

Our day of praise is done;
The evening shadows fall;
But pass not from us with the sun,
True light that lightest all.

Around the throne on high,
Where night can never be,
The white-robed angels of the sky
Bring ceaseless hymns to Thee.

A little while, and then
Shall come the glorious end;
And songs of angels and of men
In perfect praise shall blend.

SM (6.6.8.6) – John Ellerton, 1871

Tune: ST. THOMAS – Aaron Williams, 1763

#136 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

A HYMN FOR TODAY – God Himself Is With Us

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A HYMN FOR TODAY – God Himself Is With Us

God Himself is with us
Let us now adore Him,
And with awe appear before Him.
God is in His temple,
All within keep silence,
And before Him bow with reverence,
Him alone,
God we own;
To our Lord and Savior
Praises sing forever.

God Himself is with us;
Whom angelic legions
Serve with awe in heavenly regions.
“Holy, holy, holy,”
Sing the hosts of heaven,
Praise to God be ever given.
Bow Thine ear
To us here;
Hear, O Christ, the praises
That Thy church now raises.

O Thou fount of blessing,
Purify my spirit;
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Like the holy angels
Who behold Thy glory,
May I ceaselessly adore Thee,
And in all,
Great and small,
Seek to do most nearly
What Thou lovest dearly.

6.6.8.6.6.8.3.3.6.6 – Gerhard Tersteegen, 1729
trans. Frederick W. Foster and John Miller, 1789

Tune: ARNSBERG – Joachim Neander, 1680

#186 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

A HYMN FOR TODAY – The Feast of Love

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A HYMN FOR TODAY – The Feast of Love

Savior, as we eat Your supper,
We are joined with those apart,
Joined in memory and worship,
Near in worthiness of heart.

Holy ones throughout the ages
Also join us as we sup –
Saints united, past and future,
Sharers in the bread and cup.

All Your church is one in worship,
One in heart with You above,
Tasting one eternal sharing
As we keep the feast of love.

 

8.7.8.7 – M. W. Bassford, 2001

Tune: C.E. Couchman, 2001

#353 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

 

THE FEAST OF LOVE explores the implications of the Lord’s Supper and the universal church. Because all Christians are one when they partake of the one bread, we share the Lord’s Supper with Christians everywhere and from every time. (1 Corinthians 10:15-17; Jude 12)

A HYMN FOR TODAY – Ask Me What Great Thing I Know

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A HYMN FOR TODAY –  Ask Me What Great Thing I Know

Ask me what great thing I know:
What delights and stirs me so?
What the high reward I win?
Whose the name I glory in?
Jesus Christ, the crucified,
Jesus Christ, the crucified.

Who is He that makes me wise
To discern where duty lies?
Who is He that makes me true
Duty, when discerned, to do,
Jesus Christ, the crucified,
Jesus Christ, the crucified.

Who is life in life to me?
Who the death of death will be?
Who will place me on His right,
With the countless hosts of light?
Jesus Christ, the crucified,
Jesus Christ, the crucified.

This is that great thing I know,
This delights and stirs me so:
Faith in Him who died to save,
Him who triumphed o’er the grave:
Jesus Christ, the crucified,
Jesus Christ, the crucified.

7.7.7.7.7 – Johann C. Schwedler, 1741
tr. Benjamin H. Kennedy, 1863

Tune: REDHEAD 76 – Richard Redhead, 1853

#106 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

As with some other modern hymnals, “ye” changed to “me” also personalizes the hymn

A HYMN FOR TODAY — Be Thou My Vision

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou my inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’n’s Sun!
Heart of my heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

10.10.9.10 – Dallan Forgaill, 750
tr. Mary Elizabeth Byrne, 1905; alt. Eleanor H. Hull, 1912

from Irish Folk Hymn, 750

Joyce’s Old Irish Folk Music and Songs, 1909 – arr. C. E. Couchman (2011)

#318 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

The tune SLANE is also used for the modern Timothy Dudley-Smith hymn, “Christ, Be My Leader,”  which, in observance of copyright protections, cannot be reproduced here.

Footnote 4 – A Brief History of Hymns and Hymnals

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Footnote 4 – A Brief History of Hymns and Hymnals, by Steve Wolfgang, in Great Texts of the Old Testament: The 2007 Truth Lectures (Bowling Green, KY: Truthbooks, 2007), pp. 116-159.

Scott Harp has posted an article I wrote several years ago on the history of hymns, particularly in the context of the “Restoration Movement” on his page at http://www.therestorationmovement.com/recent.htm 

A HYMN FOR TODAY – I Sing the Mighty Power of God

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

I sing the mighty pow’r of God
That made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command,
And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the LORD,
Who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures through His Word
And then pronounced them good.
LORD, how Thy wonders are displayed
Where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread
Or gaze upon the sky.

In heav’n He shines with beams of love,
With wrath in hell beneath;
‘Tis on His earth I stand or move,
And ’tis His air I breathe.
His hand is my perpetual guard,
He keeps me with His eye;
Why should I then forget the LORD,
Who is forever nigh?

There’s not a plant or flow’r below
But makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise and tempests blow
By order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee
Is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that man can be
Thou, God, art present there.

CMD (8.6.8.6.D) – Isaac Watts, 1715

Tune: ELLACOMBE – Wurttemberg Gesangbuch, 1784
arr. William H. Monk, 1868

#74 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

I SING THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD declares God’s power, wisdom, and goodness displayed in His creation. The intricate workings of nature demonstrate that God is still in control and present with His people. (Genesis 1:1-31; Psalm 65:6-7, 9-13; 136:8-9; Jeremiah 31:35; 51:15-16).  Watts wrote this as a hymn for children, and published it first in his Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language, for the Use of Children (1715) — a stunning commentary by itself of the state of children’s education today, and our expectations for them!