Hymnal Poetry
We invite you to read and meditate on the Holy Spirit-inspired
writings of just a very few of the LORD's gifted people
that have graced man's history.
These "Song Warriors" have blessed the saints with the abundance of their
hearts
("A good man out of the good treasure
of his heart bringeth forth that which is good... for of the abundance of the heart
his mouth speaketh." Luke 6:45),
and given us the ability to sing what we couldn't even utter
("The Spirit Itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
Romans 8:26).
May we forever sing with these dear saints in glory, and with all the Heavenly hosts
of angels, the wonderful praises of our Most Excellent LORD.
"I will sing of the mercies of the LORD
for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations."
Psalm 89:1
"Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of His, and
give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness."
Psalm 30:4
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Table of Contents
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"Immortal,
Invisible, God Only Wise"
"When I Can Read My Title Clear"
"It Is Well With My Soul"
"Hold The Fort"
"My Soul Be On Thy Guard"
"Be Thou My Vision"
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"
"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
"We Sing the Almighty Power of God"
"Brethren, We Have Met To Worship"
"Come, Ye Thankful People,
Come"
"Rejoice, the Lord is King!"
"Our God, Our Help In Ages Past"
"How Firm A Foundation"
"On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand"
"Like A River Glorious"
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
by Walter Chalmers Smith, "Hymns of Christ
and the Christian Life," 1867.
"Now unto the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the Only
Wise God,
be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
1 Timothy 1:17
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish - but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.
All laud we would render; O help us to see '
Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
"It Is Well With My Soul"
by Horatio Gates Spafford
(1873)
"Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul."
Psalms 146:1
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
"Hold The Fort"
by Philip Paul Bliss
(1870)
"Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast,
that no man take thy crown."
Revelation 3:11
Ho, my comrades!
see the signal waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing,
victory is nigh.
(Refrain)
"Hold the fort, for I am coming,"
Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven,
"By Thy grace we will."
See the mighty host advancing,
Satan leading on;
Mighty ones around us falling,
courage almost gone!
See the glorious banner waving!
Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader's name we triumph
over every foe.
Fierce and long the battle rages,
but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander,
cheer my comrades, cheer!
"My Soul Be On Thy Guard"
by George Heath
(1781)
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
1 Peter 5:8
My soul, be on thy guard;
Ten thousand foes arise;
The hosts of sin are pressing hard
To draw thee from the skies.
O watch, and fight, and pray;
The battle ne'er give o'er;
Renew it boldly every day,
And help divine implore.
Never think the victory won,
Nor lay thine armor down;
The work of faith will not be done,
Till thou obtain the crown.
Fight on, my soul, till death
Shall bring thee to thy God;
He'll take thee, at thy parting breath,
To His divine abode.
"Be Thou My Vision"
Translated from ancient Irish to English by
Mary Elizabeth Byrne, 1905.
You may also find a version of the words in Eleanor Hull's Poem Book of the Gael
(1912).
"Hear now My Words: If there be a prophet among you,
I the LORD will make Myself known unto him in a vision,
and will speak unto him in a dream."
Numbers 12:6
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.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul's Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine 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 heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
by Charles Wesley
"And we have known and believed the Love that God hath
to us.
God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
1 John 4:16
Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav'n to earth come down;
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,
Into ev'ry troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit,
Let us find the promised rest;
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy host above,
Pray, and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee:
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.
"Rejoice, the Lord is King!"
by Charles Wesley
First appeared in Hymns for Our Lord's Resurrection, 1746
"For the LORD Himself shall descend from Heaven with a
shout,
with the voice of the Archangel, and with the Trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first."
1 Thessalonians 4:16
Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore;
Mortals give thanks and sing,
And triumph evermore;
(Refrain)
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Jesus, the Savior, reigns,
The God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains
He took His seat above;
His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules over earth and heaven,
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus given;
He sits at God's right hand
Till all His foes submit,
And bow to His command,
And fall beneath His feet:
He all His foes shall quell,
Shall all our sins destroy,
And every bosom swell
With pure seraphic joy;
Rejoice in glorious hope!
Jesus the Judge shall come,
And take His servants
Up to their eternal home.
We soon shall hear th'archangel's voice;
The trump of God shall sound, rejoice!
"Brethren, We Have Met To Worship"
by George Atkins
(1819)
"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before
the LORD our Maker."
Psalms 95:6
Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord
our God;
Will you pray with all your power, while we try to preach the Word?
All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down;
Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.
Brethren, see poor sinners round you slumbering on the brink of woe;
Death is coming, hell is moving, can you bear to let them go?
See our fathers and our mothers, and our children sinking down;
Brethren, pray and holy manna will be showered all around.
Sisters, will you join and help us? Moses' sister aided him;
Will you help the trembling mourners who are struggling hard with sin?
Tell them all about the Savior, tell them that He will be found;
Sisters, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.
Is there a trembling jailer, seeking grace, and filled with tears?
Is there here a weeping Mary, pouring forth a flood of tears?
Brethren, join your cries to help them; sisters, let your prayers abound;
Pray, Oh pray that holy manna may be scattered all around.
Let us love our God supremely, let us love each other, too;
Let us love and pray for sinners, till our God makes all things new.
Then He'll call us home to heaven, at His table we'll sit down;
Christ will gird Himself and serve us with sweet manna all around.
"Come, Ye Thankful People, Come"
by Henry Alford
(1844)
"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms."
Psalms 95:2
Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of
harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.
All the world is God's own field, fruit as praise to God we yield;
Wheat and tares together sown are to joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home;
From the field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in the garner evermore.
Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in Thy presence to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"
by Isaac Watts
(1707)
"But God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
Galatians 6:14
When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it Lord that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
"We Sing the Almighty Power of God"
Also, "I Sing the Almighty Power of God"
by Isaac Watts
(1715)
"He hath made the earth by His power,
He hath established the world by His wisdom,
and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion.
When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
and He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures."
Jeremiah 10:12-13
We sing the almighty power of God,
Who bade the mountains rise,
Who spread the flowing seas abroad
And built the lofty skies.
We sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines, too, at His command,
And all the stars obey.
We sing the goodness of the Lord,
Who fills the earth with food,
Who formed His creatures by a word
And then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed
Where'er we turn our eyes,
Whene'er we view the ground we tread
Or gaze upon the skies!
There's not a plant nor flower below
But makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise and tempests blow
By order from Thy throne.
On Thee each moment we depend;
If Thou withdraw, we die.
Oh, may we ne'er that God offend
Who is forever nigh!
"When I Can Read My Title Clear"
by Isaac Watts
(1674-1748)
"He will swallow up death in victory;
and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces."
Isaiah 25:8
When I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,
I'll bid farewell to every fear,
And wipe my weeping eyes.
Should earth against my soul engage,
And fiery darts be hurled,
Then I can smile at Satan's rage,
And face a frowning world.
Let cares, like a wild deluge come,
And storms of sorrow fall!
May I but safely reach my home,
My God, my heaven, my All.
There shall I bathe my weary soul
In seas of heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll,
Across my peaceful breast.
"Our God, Our Help In Ages Past"
by Isaac Watts
(1719)
"A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
LORD, Thou hast been our Dwelling Place in all generations."
Psalm 90:1
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!
Beneath the shadow of Thy throne
Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their cares and fears,
Are carried downward by the flood,
And lost in following years.
Thy Word commands our flesh to dust:
"Return, ye sons of men!"
All nations rose from earth at first
And turn to earth again.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
Like flowery fields the nations stand,
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower's hand
Lie withering ere 'tis night.
Our God our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last,
And our eternal home.
"How Firm A Foundation"
Attributed variously to John Keene, Kirkham,
and John Keith.
"He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Hebrews 13:5
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength every be.
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
Even down to old age all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake.
"On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand"
by Samuel Stennett
(1787)
"And the City had no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it:
for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof."
Revelation 21:23
On Jordan's stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan's fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.
(Refrain)
I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.
O the transporting, rapturous scene,
That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight!
There generous fruits that never fail,
On trees immortal grow;
There rocks and hills, and brooks and vales, With milk and honey flow.
O'er all those wide extended plains
Shines one eternal day;
There God the Son forever reigns,
And scatters night away.
No chilling winds or poisonous breath
Can reach that healthful shore;
Sickness and sorrow, pain and death,
Are felt and feared no more.
When I shall reach that happy place,
I'll be forever blessed,
For I shall see my Father's face,
And in His bosom rest.
Filled with delight my raptured soul
Would here no longer stay;
Though Jordan's waves around me roll,
Fearless I'd launch away.
"Like A River Glorious"
by Frances Ridley Havergal
(1876)
"For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace
to her like a river,
and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream."
Isaiah 66:12
Like a river glorious, is God's perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do.
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
CREDITS
Please visit The Cyber Hymnal
An INVALUABLE resource! With Scripture included for
every hymn!
This page was created using the lyrics and Scripture from this great site.
A quote from "The Cyber Hymnal":
"DEDICATED TO THE GLORY OF GOD
'Sing unto God, sing praises to His Name.' Psalms
68:4
This site has over 1,300 Christian hymns and Gospel songs
from many denominations.
You'll find lyrics, sound, background information,
photos, links, MIDI files and scores you can download.
This worship and teaching resource is provided as a public service."
God bless them:
"And I will bless them that bless thee"
(Genesis 12:3).
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