Jerusalem My Happy Home

Jerusalem, my happy home,
When shall I come to thee?
When shall my sorrows have an end?
Thy joys when shall I see?

O happy harbor of the saints,
O sweet and pleasant soil!
In thee no sorrow may be found,
No grief, no care, no toil.

Jerusalem, my happy home,
Would God I were in thee!
Would God my woes were at an end!
Thy joys that I might see!

~ Joseph Bromehead (1747-1826)

What Wondrous Love Is This

What wondrous love is this,
O my soul, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this, O my soul?
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul;
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

To God and to the Lamb
I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb
Who is the great I Am,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I'm free,
I'll sing on, I'll sing on;
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on;
And when from death I'm free,
I'll sing and joyful be,
And through eternity I'll sing on, I'll sing on!
And through eternity I'll sing on.

Alexander Means
Nineteenth century

This Is My Father's World

This is my Father's world.
And to my listening ears
All nature sings and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.


This is my Father's world,
Oh let me ne'er forget,
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died will be satisfied
And Heaven and Earth be one.

~ Babcock

O Sacred Head

The first and last verses were printed in the Magnificat.  The middle two verses are well-known and attributed to Henry Williams Baker (as noted w/in the text).  However, there are very rich and beautiful, lesser-known, original verses by Bernard of Clairvaux, which you can access via the link at the bottom.

O Sacred Head surrounded
By crown of piercing thorn;
O bleeding Head, so wounded,
Reviled and put to scorn:
The veil of death falls o'er you,
The light withdraws its rays,
Yet angel hosts adore you,
And tremble as they gaze.

I see thy strength and vigor
all fading in the strife,
and death with cruel rigor,
bereaving thee of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn thy face on me.

In this thy bitter passion,
Good Shepherd, think of me
with thy most sweet compassion,
unworthy though I be:
beneath thy cross abiding
for ever would I rest,
in thy dear love confiding,
and with thy presence blest.

---

Words: Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877), 1861;

In darkness, we betrayed you,
In mortal fear denied;
In cowardice we judged you,
In sin, we crucified:
Yet you look down in mercy
From on your cross above,
And you forgive our blindness
In your redeeming love.

(This last verse composed by Genevieve Glen.)

For the original eleven verses, see this site.

"Va, pensiero" Fly, Thought, On Wings Of Gold

Va, pensiero - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

'via Blog this'

This chorus by Verdi is based on the Psalm "By the waters of Babylon we sat and wept." (See Psalm text below the Verdi lyrics.)

Here's Verdi's lyrics:

Fly, thought, on wings of gold;
go settle upon the slopes and the hills,
where, soft and mild, the sweet airs
of our native land smell fragrant!

Greet the bank of the Jordan
and Zion's toppled towers...
Oh, my country so beautiful and lost!
Oh, remembrance so dear and so fatal!

Golden harp of the prophetic seers,
why dost thou hang mute upon the willow?
Rekindle our bosom's memories,
and speak to us of times gone by!

Mindful of the fate of Jerusalem,
give forth a sound of crude lamentation,
or may the Lord inspire you a harmony of voices
which may instill virtue to suffering.

Psalm 137

An Experience of the Captivity.

 ¹ By the rivers of Babylon, 
There we sat down and wept, 
When we remembered Zion. 
² Upon the ^[a]willows in the midst of it 
We hung our ^[b]harps. 
³ For there our captors ^[c]demanded of us ^[d]songs, 
And our tormentors mirth, saying, 
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

 ⁴ How can we sing the LORD’S song
In a foreign land?
⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand ^[e]forget her skill.
⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not ^[f]exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.

 ⁷ Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
To its very foundation.”
⁸ O daughter of Babylon, you ^[g]devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who repays you
With ^[h]the recompense with which you have repaid us.
⁹ How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
Against the rock.

Usually verses 7-9 aren't set to music.

Be Thou My Vision

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.

~ Word attributed to Dallan Forgaill (8th century)

You can find background information about this hymn here:

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/t/btmvison.htm

O Thou In Whose Presence My Soul Takes Delight

O Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight,
On whom in affliction I call,
My comfort by day, and my song in the night,
My hope, my salvation, my all.

Where dost Thou at noontide resort with Thy sheep,
To feed on the pastures of love?
Say, why in the valley of death should I weep,
Or alone in the wilderness rove?

O, why should I wander an alien from Thee,
And cry in the desert for bread?
Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see,
And smile at the tears I have shed.

Ye daughters of Zion declare, have ye seen
The Star that on Israel shone?
Say, if in your tents my Belovèd has been,
And where, with His flocks, He is gone.

This is my Belovèd; His form is divine;
His vestments shed odors around:
The locks of His head are as grapes on the vine,
When autumn with plenty is crowned.

The roses of Sharon, the lilies that grow
In vales, on the banks of the streams:
On His cheeks, all the beauties of excellence glow,
And His eyes are as quivers of beams.

His voice, as the sound of the dulcimer sweet,
Is heard through the shadows of death;
The cedars of Lebanon bow at His feet,
The air is perfumed with His breath.

His lips as a fountain of righteousness flow,
That waters the garden of grace,
From which their salvation the Gentiles shall know,
And bask in the smiles of His face.

Love sits on His eye-lids, and scatters delight
Through all the bright mansions on high;
Their faces the cherubim veil in His sight,
And tremble with fullness of joy.

He looks, and ten thousands of angels rejoice,
And myriads wait for His word;
He speaks, and eternity, filled with His voice,
Re-echoes the praise of her Lord.

Dear Shepherd, I hear and will follow Thy call;
I know the sweet sound of Thy voice.
Restore and defend me, for Thou art my All,
And in Thee I will ever rejoice.

---

http://nethymnal.org/htm/o/t/othouwho.htm

I grew up w/ the first 3 verses and the 2nd to last, set to music by J. Harold Moyer, found in the Mennonite Hymnal.  I'm glad to have found the full text!  (And I still prefer Moyer's setting!)

Come Ye Disconsolate

EARTH HAS NO SORROW BUT HEAVEN CANNOT HEAL.

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”

Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

Find the original text and identifying info here:

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/y/cydiscon.htm

Jerusalem, My Happy Home

Jerusalem, my happy home,
When shall I with you be?
When shall my sorrows have an end?
Your joys, when shall I see?

O happy harbor of the saints,
O sweet and pleasant soil!
In you no sorrow may be found,
No grief, no care, no toil.

Your gardens and your gallant walks
Continually are green;
There grow such sweet and pleasant flow'rs
As nowhere else are seen.

There, trees forevermore bear fruit
And evermore do spring,
There, evermore the angels sit
And evermore do sing.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
God grant that I may see
Your endless joy, and of the same
Partaker ever be!

FBP in Song of Mary, London, 1601
LAND OF REST CM
American folk melody
The Christian Harp, Pittsburgh, 1836

O God Our Help In Ages Past

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under 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.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all who breathe away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Be thou our guide while life shall last,
And our eternal home.

~ Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

(Music attributed to William Croft; harmonization by W.H. Monk
HymnTune: ST. ANNE
Meter: CM

The Love of God

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

(Refrain)
O love of God!  How rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who hear refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God's love so sure shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam's race --
The saints' and angels' song.

(Refrain)

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies with parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

(Refrain)

~ Frederick M. Lehman, 1917

I Wonder As I Wander

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die,
For poor ornery people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall,
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God's heaven a star's light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.


I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die,
For poor ornery people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.


If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God's angels in heaven for to sing,
He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King.


I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die,
For poor ornery people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

~Appalachian Folk Hymn