Sunday's Hymn: How Sweet and Awful Is the Place

How sweet and awful is the place
With Christ within the doors,
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores.

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast,
Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
“Lord, why was I a guest?

“Why was I made to hear thy voice,
And enter while there’s room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?”

‘Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly drew us in;
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin.

Pity the nations, O our God,
Constrain the earth to come;
Send thy victorious Word abroad,
And bring the strangers home.

We long to see thy churches full,
That all the chosen race
May, with one voice and heart and soul,
Sing thy redeeming grace.

—Isaac Watts

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Come, O Come Thou Quickening Spirit at Conjubilant With Song
• Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory at The Happy Wonderer
• Prayer for a blessing at The Upward Call
• Fountain of Love, Fill Our Souls at Trevin Wax
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: Checks upon the Church at Pyromaniacs
• Balancing Public and Private Worship at Theology for Girls

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Sunday's Hymn: The Church's One Foundation

The church’s one Foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav’n he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
And for her life he died.

Elect from ev’ry nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth,
Her charter of salvation
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food.
And to one hope she presses,
With ev’ry grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

The church shall never perish!
Her dear Lord to defend,
To guide, sustain and cherish
Is with her to the end;
Though there be those that hate her,
And false sons in her pale,
Against or foe or traitor
She ever shall prevail.

‘Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace for evermore;
Till with the vision glorious
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great church victorious
Shall be the church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
With the God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
Like them, the meek and lowly,
On high may dwell with thee.

—Samuel J. Stone

In my opinion, an anthem needs an organ and choir.

But for those of you who would rather die than hear an enthusiastically sung anthem accompanied by an vigorously played organ, this is a lovely little rendition of the traditional tune with just guitar and voice.

And this is the Indelible Grace updated tune. I’m thinking this is not nearly as congregationally singable as the original.  

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence at The Happy Wonderer
• Watch, remember, seek, and strive at The Upward Call
• Lord, You Are Our Faith, Hope, and Love at Trevin Wax
• Behold I make all things new at Tried With Fire
• If we’re not communing with God at Blogging Theologically
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: The standing miracle of the Church at Pyromaniacs
• Prepared to Listen at Theology for Girls

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Sunday's Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
He whose word cannot be broken
Formed thee for his own abode:
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
Thou may’st smile at all thy foes.

See the streams of living waters,
Springing from eternal love,
Well supply thy sons and daughters,
And all fear of want remove;
Who can faint, while such a river
Ever flows their thirst t’assuage?
Grace which, like the Lord, the giver,
Never fails from age to age.

Round each habitation hov’ring,
See the cloud and fire appear
For a glory and a cov’ring,
Showing that the Lord is near:
Thus deriving from their banner
Light by night and shade by day,
Safe they feed upon the manna
Which he gives them when they pray.

Saviour, if of Zion’s city
I, through grace, a member am,
Let the world deride or pity,
I will glory in thy Name:
Fading is the worldling’s pleasure,
All his boasted pomp and show;
Solid joys and lasting treasure
None but Zion’s children know.

—John Newton

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Mother’s Prayers Have Followed Me at The Happy Wonderer
• Old Testament Gospel at The Upward Call
• John Newton’s “Spring” Hymn at Trevin Wax
• Good Advice for Troublous Times at Tried With Fire
• Seeing a gift as a gift leads to greater joy at Blogging Theologically
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: The sweeter center at Pyromaniacs
• The Duty of Mothers and Grandmothers at Theology for Girls

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.