Modern HymnsA Mighty Fortress Is Our GodMARTIN LUTHER. Tr. FREDERICK HENRY HEDGE
¶[1483-1546]
¶A MIGHTY fortress is our God,A bulwark never failing;L Our helper he, amid the floodOf mortal ills prevailing.For still our ancient foeDoth seek to work us woe;His craft and power are great;And, armed with cruel hate,On earth is not his equal.
¶Did we in our own strength confide,Our striving would be losing,—Were not the right man on our side,The man of God's own choosing.Dost ask who that may be?Christ Jesus, it is he,Lord Sabaoth his name,From age to age the same,And he must win the battle.
¶And though this world, with devils filled,Should threaten to undo us;We will not fear, for God hath willedHis truth to triumph through us.The prince of darkness grim,—We tremble not for him;His rage we can endure,For lo! his doom is sure,—One little word shall fell him.[558]That word above all earthly powers—No thanks to them—abideth;The Spirit and the gifts are oursThrough him who with us sideth.Let goods and kindred go,This mortal life also;The body they may kill:God's truth abideth still,His kingdom is forever.
Now Thank We All Our GodMARTIN RINKART. Tr. CATHERINE WINK WORTH[1586-1649]
¶Now thank we all our God,With heart and hands and voices,Who wondrous things hath done,In whom his world rejoices,Who from our mothers' armsHath blessed us on our wayWith countless gifts of love,And still is ours to-day.
¶O , may this bounteous GodThrough all our life be near us,With ever joyful heartsAnd blessed peace to cheer us,And keep us in his grace,And guide us when perplexed,And free us from all illsIn this world and the next.
¶All praise and thanks to God,The Father, now be given,The Son, and him who reignsWith them in highest heaven:—The One Eternal God,Whom earth and heaven adore,For thus it was, is now,And shall be evermore!
Be Not Dismayed
¶BE not dismayed, thou little flock,Although the foe's fierce battle-shock,Loud on all sides, assail thee.Though o'er thy fall they laugh secure,Their triumph cannot long endure:Let not thy courage fail thee.
¶Thy cause is God's: go at his call,And to his hand commit thy all.Fear thou no ill impending.His Gideon shall arise for thee,God's word and people manfully,In God's own time, defending.
¶Our hope is sure in Jesus' might;Against themselves the godless fight,Themselves, not us, distressing.Shame and contempt their lot shall be;God is with us, with him are we;To us belongs his blessing.
In TemptationCharles Wesley
¶[1708-1788]
¶JESUS, lover of my soul,Let me to thy bosom fly,While the nearer waters roll,While the tempest still is high:Hide me, O my Saviour, hideTill the storm of life is past,Safe into the haven guide,O, receive my soul at last![560]Other refuge have I none,Hangs my helpless soul on thee;Leave, ah, leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me:All my trust on thee is stayed,All my help from thee I bring;Cover my defenceless headWith the shadow of thy wing.
¶Wilt thou not regard my call ?Wilt thou not accept my prayer?Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall!Lo! on thee I cast my care!Reach me out thy gracious handWhile I of thy strength receive,Hoping against hope I stand,Dying, and behold I live!
¶Thou, O Christ, art all I want;More than all in thee I find:Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,Heal the sick and lead the blind!Just and holy is thy name;I am all unrighteousness;False and full of sin I am,Thou art full of truth and grace.
¶Plenteous grace with thee is found,Grace to cover all my sin;Let the healing streams abound,Make and keep me pure within:Thou of life the fountain art;Freely let me take of thee,Spring thou up within my heart,Rise to all eternity!
Christmas HymnCharles Wesley
¶[1708-1788}
¶HARK! how all the welkin ringsGlory to the King of kings!Peace on earth, and mercy mild,God and sinners reconciled!Joyful, all ye nations, rise,Join the triumph of the skies;Universal nature say,Christ the Lord is born to-day!
¶Christ by highest Heaven adored,Christ, the Everlasting Lord;Late in time behold Him come,Offspring of a Virgin's womb:Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;Hail th' Incarnate Deity,Pleased as man with men to appear,Jesus our Immanuel here!
¶Hail! the heavenly Prince of Peace!Hail! the Sun of Righteousness!Light and life to all He brings,Risen with healing in His wings.Mild He lays His glory by,Born that man no more may die,Born to raise the sons of earth,Born to give them second birth.
¶Come, Desire of nations, come,Fix in us Thy humble home!Rise, the Woman's conquering Seed,Bruise in us the Serpent's head!Now display Thy saving power,Ruined nature now restore,Now in mystic union joinThine to ours, and ours to Thine![562]Adam's likeness, Lord, efface;Stamp Thy image in its place;Second Adam from above,Reinstate us in Thy love!Let us Thee, though lost, regain,Thee, the Life, the Heavenly Man:O! to all Thyself impart,Formed in each believing heart!
Light Shining Out of DarknessWilliam Cowper
¶[1731-1800]
¶God moves in a mysterious wayHis wonders to perform;He plants his footsteps in the sea,And rides upon the storm.
¶Deep in unfathomable minesOf never-failing skill,He treasures up his bright designs,And works his sovereign will.
¶Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,The clouds ye so much dreadAre big with mercy, and shall breakIn blessings on your head.
¶Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,But trust him for his grace;Behind a frowning providenceHe hides a smiling face.
¶His purposes will ripen fast,Unfolding every hour;The bud may have a bitter taste,But sweet will be the flower.
¶Blind unbelief is sure to err,And scan his work in vain;God is his own interpreter,And he will make it plain.
p. 563¶THE FUTURE PEACE AND GLORY OF THE CHURCH
William Cowper
¶[1731-1800]
¶HEAR what God, the Lord, hath spoken:O my people, faint and few,Comfortless, afflicted, broken,Fair abodes I build for you.Thorns of heart-felt tribulationShall no more perplex your ways:You shall name your walls Salvation,And your gates shall all be Praise.
¶There, like streams that feed the garden,Pleasures without end shall flow;For the Lord, your faith rewarding,All his bounty shall bestow;Still in undisturbed possessionPeace and righteousness shall reign;Never shall you feel oppression,Hear the voice of war again.
¶Ye no more your suns descending,Waning moons no more shall see;But your griefs, forever ending,Find eternal noon in me.God shall rise, and, shining o'er you,Change to day the gloom of night;He, the Lord, shall be your glory,God your everlasting light.
Early PietyReginald Heber
¶[1783-1826]
¶BY cool Siloam's shady rillHow sweet the lily grows!How sweet the breath beneath the hillOf Sharon's dewy rose![564]Lo! such the child whose early feetThe paths of peace have trod,Whose secret heart with influence sweet,Is upward drawn to God.
¶By cool Siloam's shady rillThe lily must decay;The rose that blooms beneath the hillMust shortly fade away;And soon, too soon, the wintry hourOf man's maturer ageWill shake the soul with sorrow's powerAnd stormy passion's rage.
¶O Thou, whose infant feet were foundWithin Thy Father's shrine,Whose years with changeless virtue crownedWere all alike divine,Dependent on Thy bounteous breath,We seek Thy grace alone,In childhood, manhood, age, and deathTo keep us still Thine own.
The Holy TrinityReginald Heber
¶[1783-1826]
¶HOLY, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and Mighty!God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
¶Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
¶Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee,Perfect in power, in love, and purity.[565]Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!All Thy works shall praise Thy Name in earth and sky andHoly, holy, holy! Merciful and Mighty!God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
EpiphanyReginald Heber
¶[1783-1826]BRIGHTEST and best of the sons of the morning,Dawn on our darkness, and lend us Thine aid!Star of the East, the horizon adorning,Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!
¶Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining,Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall;Angels adore Him, in slumber reclining,—Maker, and Monarch, and Saviour of all.
¶Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion,Odors of Edom, and offerings divine,Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?
¶Vainly we offer each ample oblation,Vainly with gifts would His favor secure;Richer by far is the heart's adoration,Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.
¶Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,Dawn on our darkness, and lend us Thine aid!Star of the East, the horizon adorning,Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!
Sun of My Soul, Thou Saviour DearJohn Keble
¶[1792-1866]SUN of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,It is not night if Thou be near;Oh may no earth-born cloud ariseTo hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes![566]When the soft dews of kindly sleepMy weary eyelids gently steep,Be my last thought how sweet to restForever on my Saviour's breast!
¶Abide with me from morn till eve,For without Thee I cannot live;Abide with me when night is nigh,For without Thee I dare not die.
¶If some poor wandering child of ThineHave spurned to-day the voice divine,Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;Let him no more lie down in sin.
¶Watch by the sick; enrich the poorWith blessings from Thy boundless storeBe every mourner's sleep to-night,Like infant slumbers, pure and light.
¶Come near and bless us when we wake,Ere through the world our way we take,Till in the ocean of Thy loveWe lose ourselves in heaven above.
Abide with MeHenry Francis Lyte
¶[1793-1847]ABIDE with me! fast falls the eventide,The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide!When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,Help of the helpless, O, abide with me!
¶Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;Change and decay in all around I see:O thou who changest not, abide with me!
¶Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;But, as thou dwell'st with thy disciples, Lord,Familiar, condescending, patient, free,Come, not to sojourn, but abide with me![567]Come not in terrors, as the King of kings;But kind and good, with healing in thy wings;Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea;Come, Friend of sinners, and thus 'bide with me!
¶Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,Thou hast not left me, oft as I left thee;On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!
¶I need thy presence every passing hour:What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power?Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?Through cloud and sunshine, O, abide with me!
¶I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness:Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?I triumph still if thou abide with me.
¶Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes,Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadowsflee:In life and death, O Lord, abide with me!
The Pillar of CloudJohn Henry Newman
¶[1801-1890]
¶LEAD, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,Lead thou me on!The night is dark, and I am far from home,—Lead thou me on!Keep thou my feet! I do not ask to ,seeThe distant scene—one step enough for me.
¶I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thouShouldst lead me on;I loved to choose and see my path; but nowLead thou me on![568]I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,Pride ruled my will: remember not past years!
¶So long thy power hath blest me, sure it stillWill lead me on,O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, tillThe night is gone,And with the morn those angel faces smileWhich I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
Nearer, My God, to TheeSarah Flower Adams
¶[1805-1848]NEARER, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!E'en though it be a crossThat raiseth me,Still all my song would be,Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!
¶Though like the wanderer,The sun gone down,Darkness be over me,My rest a stone,Yet in my dreams I'd beNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee.
¶There let the way appearSteps unto heaven;All that thou send'st to meIn mercy given;Angels to beckon meNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee.
¶Then, with my waking thoughtsBright with thy praise,Out of my stony griefsBethel I'll raise;[569]So by my woes to beNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee.
¶Or if on joyful wingCleaving the sky,Sun, moon, and stars forgot,Upwards I fly,Still all my song shall be,Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!
My Faith Looks Up to TheeRay Palmer[1808-1887]
¶MY faith looks up to thee,Thou Lamb of Calvary,Saviour divine!Now hear me while I pray,Take all my guilt away,O let me from this dayBe wholly thine!
¶May thy rich grace impartStrength to my fainting heartMy zeal inspire!As thou hast died for me,O may my love to theePure, warm, and changeless be,—A living fire!
¶While life's dark maze I tread,And griefs around me spread,Be thou my guide;Bid darkness turn to day,Wipe sorrow's tears away,Nor let me ever strayFrom thee aside.[570]When ends life's transient dream,When death's cold, sullen streamShall o'er me roll,Blest Saviour, then, in love,Fear and distrust remove!O bear me safe above,—A ransomed soul!
A Sun - Day HymnOliver Wendell Holmes
¶[1809-1894]
¶LORD of all being, throned afar,Thy glory flames from sun and star;Centre and soul of every sphere,Yet to each loving heart how near!
¶Sun of our life, thy quickening raySheds on our path the glow of day:Star of our hope, thy softened lightCheers the long watches of the night.
¶Our midnight is thy smile withdrawn;Our noontide is thy gracious dawn;Our rainbow arch, thy mercy's sign:All, save the clouds of sin, are thine.
¶Lord of all life, below, above,Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love;Before thy ever-blazing throneWe ask no lustre of our own.
¶Grant us thy truth to make us free,And kindling hearts that burn for thee,Till all thy living altars claimOne holy light, one heavenly flame.
The Pilgrims of the NightFrederick William Faber
¶[1814-1863]
¶HARK, hark, my soul! angelic songs are swellingO'er earth's green fields and ocean's wave-beat shore:How sweet the truth those blessed strains are tellingOf that new life when sin shall be no more!Angels of Jesus, angels of light,Singing to welcome the pilgrims of the night!
¶Darker than night life's shadows fall around us,And like benighted men we miss our mark:God hides himself, and grace hath scarcely found us,E'er death finds out his victims in the dark.Angels of Jesus, etc.
¶Far, far away, like bells at evening pealing,The voice of Jesus sounds o'er land and sea,And laden souls by thousands meekly stealing,Kind Shepherd, turn their weary steps to thee.Angels of Jesus, etc.
¶Onward we go, for still we hear them singing,"Come, weary souls, for Jesus bids you come;"And through the dark, its echoes sweetly ringing,The music of the gospel leads us home.Angels of Jesus, etc.
¶Rest comes at last; though life be long and dreary,The day must dawn, and darksome night be past;All journeys end in welcomes to the weary,And heaven, the heart's true home, will come at last.Angels of Jesus, etc.
¶Cheer up, my soul! faith's moonbeams softly glistenUpon the breast of life's most troubled sea,And it will cheer thy drooping heart to listenTo those brave songs which angels mean for thee.Angels of Jesus, etc.[572]Angels! sing on, your faithful watches keeping;Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above,While we toil on, and soothe ourselves with weeping,Till life's long night shall break in endless love.Angels of Jesus, etc.
Let There Be LightJohn Marriott
¶[1816]
¶THOU, Whose Almighty wordChaos and darkness heard,And took their flight;Hear us, we humbly pray;And, where the gospel's daySheds not its glorious ray,Let there be light!
¶Thou, Who didst come to bringOn Thy redeeming wingHealing and sight,Health to the sick in mind,Sight to the inly blind,Oh, now to all mankindLet there be light!
¶Spirit of truth, and love,Life-giving, holy Dove,Speed forth Thy flight!Move on the waters' faceBearing the lamp of grace,And in earth's darkest placeLet there be light!
¶Holy and blessed Three,Glorious Trinity,Wisdom, Love, Might!Boundless as ocean's tideRolling in fullest pride,Through the earth, far and wide,Let there be light!