I Heard The Voice of Jesus Say

 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon My breast!”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting-place,
and He has made me glad.

2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
the living water; thirsty one,
stoop down, and drink, and live!”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in Him.

3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s Light;
look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright!”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in Him my Star, my Sun;
and in that Light of life I’ll walk,
till all my journey's done.

Text by Horatius Bonar, 1846

How Firm A Foundation

1 How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

2 "Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
for I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

3 "When through the deep waters I call you to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,
for I will be with you in trouble to bless,
and sanctify to you your deepest distress.

4 "When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
my grace all-sufficient shall be your supply;
the flame shall not hurt you; I only design
your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

5 "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!"

For more great info on this marvelous hymn see source below:

http://www.hymnary.org/text/how_firm_a_foundation_ye_saints_of

Wow, what a great message is delivered in this hymn and to such a rejuvinating tune!  "What more can He say?"  Christ is God's Word to us!  He is with us!  He will never forsake us!  Hallelujah!

Sleepers Awake

"Wachet Auf" (also known as "Sleepers Awake") is a chorale cantata by J. S. Bach.  For a splendid wealth of details about this great cantata, read here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachet_auf,_ruft_uns_die_Stimme,_BWV_140

The words are magnificent, but it's the tune I find especially nourishing.  There are several marvelous piano transcriptions of the main tune.  Wilhelm Kempff recorded his own (see Amazon.com) and there's another by Busoni that many pianists have recorded, which I also like and sometimes play at weddings.

A side-by-side look at Exsultet texts

A side-by-side look at Exsultet texts



The Exsultet is such a beautiful hymn, one of my favorite parts of the Easter Vigil.  The above link takes you to Fr. Zuhlsdorf's Blog article comparing two English translations compared side-by-side with the original Latin text of the hymn.

Jesus Priceless Treasure

1 Jesus, priceless treasure,
source of purest pleasure,
friend most sure and true:
long my heart was burning,
fainting much and yearning,
thirsting, Lord, for you.
Yours I am, O spotless Lamb,
so will I let nothing hide you,
seek no joy beside you! 

2 Let your arms enfold me:
those who try to wound me
cannot reach me here.
Though the earth be shaking,
every heart be quaking,
Jesus calms my fear.
Fires may flash and thunder crash;
yea, though sin and hell assail me,
Jesus will not fail me. 

3 Hence, all worldly treasure!
Jesus is my pleasure,
Jesus is my choice.
Hence, all empty glory!
What to me your story
told with tempting voice?
Pain or loss or shame or cross
shall not from my Savior move me,
since he chose to love me. 

4 Banish thoughts of sadness,
for the Lord of gladness,
Jesus, enters in;
though the clouds may gather,
those who love the Savior
still have peace within.
Though I bear much sorrow here,
still in you lies purest pleasure,
Jesus, priceless treasure! 

Psalter Hymnal, 1987

Find more information on this site:

http://www.hymnary.org/text/jesus_priceless_treasure

Blessed Assurance

Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine

This is one of my favorite hymns because it was one of my Dad's favorites and we sang it nearly every time we sang together, which was nearly every night.  The link above (in the heading) and the text below come from Hymnary.org a great place to find all kinds of info regarding hymns.

Full Text

1 Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

2 Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]

3 Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love. [Refrain]

Up From The Grave He Arose

1. Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:
Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

2. Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)

3. Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)
http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh322.sht

Come Ye Disconsolate

This ver­sion of the lyr­ics, found in mo­dern hymn­als, in­cor­po­rates chang­es by Thom­as Hast­ings in his Spir­it­u­al Songs for So­cial Wor­ship, 1831. The orig­in­al lyr­ics are at the bot­tom of this page.

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.

---

Moore’s original lyrics:

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come, at the shrine of God 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 when all others die, fadeless and pure;
Here speaks the Comforter, in God’s name saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”

Come, ask the infidel what boon he brings us,
What charm for aching hearts he can reveal,
Sweet is that heavenly promise Hope sings us—
“Earth has no sorrow that God cannot heal.”

Find more about this hymn here:

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

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

My Shepherd will supply my need:
Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy's sake,
In paths of truth and grace.

 When through the shades of death I walk,
your presence is my stay;
one word of your supporting breath
drives all my fears away.
Your hand in sight of all my foes,
does still my table spread;
my cup with Blessings overflows,
your oil anoints my head.

The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may your house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.

~ Isaac Watts

More info can be found here.

Be Glad Of Heart

Be glad of heart, all you who seek
To lodge where welcome waits;
Our Shepherd owns a rock-walled fold
And wide has flung the gates.

Christ, sent to gather in the flock
To dwell in God's embrace,
Walks by our side toward blessedness
Where love prepares our place.

With anxious care God scans the road
For signs of our approach
And runs to meet us, sinners all,
With blessing, not reproach.

So let us sing as on we go
Until our travels cease
Where God, our shelter at the last,
Enfolds us deep in peace.

~ Genevieve Glenn, OSB

source: Magnificat, Vol. 14, No. 13

It Is Well With My Soul

Words: Ho­ra­tio G. Spaf­ford, 1873. Music: Ville du Havre, Phil­ip P. Bliss, 1876.  The tune is named af­ter the ship on which Spaf­ford’s child­ren perished, the S.S. Ville de Havre. Iron­ic­al­ly, Bliss him­self died in a tra­gic train wreck short­ly af­ter writ­ing this mu­sic.

This hymn was writ­ten af­ter two ma­jor trau­mas in Spaf­ford’s life. The first was the great Chi­ca­go Fire of Oc­to­ber 1871, which ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly (he had been a weal­thy bus­i­ness­man). Short­ly af­ter, while cross­ing the At­lan­tic, all four of Spaf­ford’s daugh­ters died in a col­li­sion with an­o­ther ship. Spaf­ford’s wife Anna sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, “Saved alone.” Sev­er­al weeks lat­er, as Spaf­ford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daugh­ters died, the Ho­ly Spir­it in­spired these words. They speak to the eter­nal hope that all be­liev­ers have, no mat­ter what pain and grief be­fall them on earth.

---

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.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,
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.

Refrain

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!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

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.

Refrain

The above info was found on the following site.  (I highly recommend this site for hymn texts and info regarding their inspiration.)

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/t/i/itiswell.htm

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