RLST 125W

CLASS ON HYMNS

These are the lyrics of some of the hymns we will be discussing in our class.

LET ALL MORTAL FLESH KEEP SILENCE

“Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Habakkuk 2:20

Words: Liturgy of St. James, 4th Century ; translated from Greek to English by Gerard Moultrie, 1864.

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!

EXULTATION

Southern Harmony no. 88

1. Come away to the skies. My beloved, arise,

And rejoice in the day thou wast born;

On this festival day, come exulting away,

And with singing to Zion return.

2. We have laid up our love and our treasure above,

Though our bodies continue below,

The redeemed of the Lord will remember his word,

And with singing to paradise go.

3. Now with singing and praise, let us spend all the days,

By our heavenly Father bestowed,

While his grace we receive from his bounty, and live

To the honor and glory of God.

4. For the glory we were first created to share,

Both the nature and kingdom divine!

Now created again that our souls may remain,

Throughout time and eternity thine.

5. We with thanks to approve, the design of that love

Which hath joined us to Jesus's name;

So united in heart, let us never more part,

Till we meet at the feast of the Lamb.

6. There, O! there at his feet, we shall all likewise meet,

And be parted in body no more;

We shall sing to our lyres, with the heavenly choirs,

And our Savior in glory adore.

7. Hallelujah we sing, to our Father and King,

And his rapturous praises repeat:

To the Lamb that was slain, Hallelujah again,

Sing, all heaven and fall at his feet.

COME THOU FOUNT

Come Thou Fount

By Robert Robinson, 1758.

Public Domain.

Come Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above;

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my "Ebenezer";

Hither by Thy help I'm come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor,

Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, Oh, take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

COME, LABOR ON

Words: Jane L. Borthwick, 1859, 1863.

Come, labor on!

Who dares stand idle, on the harvest plain

While all around him waves the golden grain?

And to each servant does the Master say,

"Go work today"

Come, labor on!

Claim the high calling angels cannot share -

To young and old the Gospel gladness bear;

Redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly.

The night draws nigh.

Come, labor on!

The enemy is watching night and day,

To sow the tares, to snatch the seed away;

While we in sleep our duty have forgot, He slumbered not.

Come, labor on!

Away with gloomy doubts and faithless fear!

No arm so weak but may do service here:

By feeblest agents may our God fulfill

His righteous will.

Come, labor on!

No time for rest, till glows the western sky,

Till the long shadows o'er our pathway lie,

And a glad sound comes with the setting sun,

"Well done, well done!"

Come, labor on!

The toil is pleasant, the reward is sure;

Bless'd are those who to the end endure;

How full their joy, how deep their rest shall be,

O Lord, with Thee!

JUST AS I AM

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt,

Fightings and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;

Sight, riches, healing of the mind,

Yea, all I need in Thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

Because Thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown

Hath broken every barrier down;

Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, of that free love,

The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,

Here for a season, then above,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

- Words: Charlotte Elliott, 1835

- Music: William B. Bradbury, 1839

IN THE GARDEN

I come to the garden alone,

While the dew is still on the roses,

and the voice I hear falling on my ear,

The son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and he talks with me

And He tells me I am His own,

And the Joy we share as we tarry there

none other has ever known.