Tag Archives: Matthew L. Harber

A HYMN FOR TODAY – Evensong

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Another of the hymns we recently recorded in Tampa for the 3rd Sumphonia CD.

Evensong
The evening light is failing;
The sun has passed away;
Our Father’s hand is veiling
The splendor of the day,
But still we know His favor
And see it shine more bright
In Jesus Christ our Savior,
Our pure and changeless Light.

In peace beyond all sorrow,
We let our eyelids close,
Unworried by tomorrow,
Untroubled by our foes.
Our Shepherd will not fail us;
He watches for His sheep;
No evil will assail us,
For He will never sleep.

Our God, as we adore You,
We learn that life shall pass;
All flesh is dust before You,
Its glory, like the grass.
But You will not forsake us
Nor leave Your word undone;
From darkness You will wake us
To glory like the sun.

7.6.7.6.D – M. W. Bassford, 2005

Tune: EVENSONG – Matthew L. Harber, 2005

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

A HYMN FOR TODAY — Through The Night of Doubt and Sorrow

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Through the night of doubt and sorrow
Onward goes the pilgrim band,
Singing songs of expectation,
Marching to the promised land.
Clear before us through the darkness
Gleams and burns the guiding light;
Brother clasps the hand of brother,
Stepping fearless through the night.

One the light of God’s own presence,
O’er His ransomed people shed,
Chasing far the gloom and terror,
Bright’ning all the path we tread;
One the object of our journey,
One the faith which never tires,
One the earnest looking forward,
One the hope our God inspires.

One the strain that lips of thousands
Lift as from the heart of one;
One the conflict, one the peril
One the march in God begun,
One the gladness of rejoicing
On the far eternal shore,
Where the one almighty Father
Reigns in love for evermore.

Onward, therefore, pilgrim brothers,
Onward, with the cross our aid!
Bear its shame, and fight its battle,
Till we rest beneath its shade.
Soon shall come the great awaking,
Soon the rending of the tomb;
Then the scatt’ring of all shadows,
And the end of toil and gloom.

8.7.8.7.D – Bernhardt S. Ingemann, 1859                                                                                                                   trans. Sabine Baring-Gould, 1867                                                                                                                                       Tune: HOLLINGSWORTH – Matthew L. Harber, 2010                                                                                          #689 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

A HYMN FOR TODAY – A Foretaste of Your Rest

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

A Foretaste of Your Rest

Gracious Father, Friend divine,
Consolation of the blessed,
You have touched this day of mine
With a foretaste of Your rest.
Though tomorrow care may come,
Trial arise and grief ensue,
Now I thank You for the time
I have spent in joy with You.

Should this hour of rest depart
And the joy it brings me cease,
I will bear it in my heart
As a promise of Your peace.
When I strain beneath new woe
Or contend with future sin,
From this moment I may know
You will bless my life again.

Father, though I cannot see
How my path will end below,
Still I know You wait for me
Where my heart has longed to go.
When my body cannot stand,
Take my spirit to Your breast;
With a father’s gentle hands,
Bear my soul to Sabbath rest.

7.7.7.7.D – M.W. Bassford, 2003

Tune: COPELAND – Matthew L. Harber, 2003

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

A FORETASTE OF YOUR REST thanks God for the times of peace that sometimes appear in our lives. Those moments promise both that God will also be with us in tumultuous times, and that He will give us final rest in Heaven. (Isaiah 26:3; Hebrews 4:7-10)

A HYMN FOR TODAY – My God, I Thank You, Who Have Made The Earth So Bright

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

My God, I thank You, who have 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 You 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.

I thank You, Lord, that you have 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 You, 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.

8.4.8.4.8.4 – Adelaide Anne Proctor, 1884

Tune: EULOGIA – Matthew Harber, 2011

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

A HYMN FOR TODAY – And Can It Be That I Should Gain?

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me who caused His pain,
For me who scorned His perfect love?

You left Your Father’s throne above –
So free and infinite Your grace –
Emptied Yourself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race.

Boldly I come before Your throne,
To claim Your mercy immense and free.
No greater love will e’er be known,
For, O my God, it found out me.

[Chorus]
Amazing love! How can it be
That You, my God, should die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That You, my God, should die for me?

Irr. – Charles Wesley, 1738 (arr. Bob Kauflin)

Tune: Bob Kauflin, 1988 (arr. Mathew L. Harber)

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