God allowed me to sing this hymn over the weekend in an old, old church at the memorial service for a friend's brother. I cannot tell you how these words have impacted me today, as I've sung the first verse over and over; read and re-read the words of the other 14 stanzas online.
I've typed out (well . . . copied and pasted!) the verses which held special meaning for me; maybe they'll lift your heart as well. As I was singing, Psalm 103 came to mind: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" The next 5 chapters as well contain many, many verses of praise, blessing and thanks to the Lord.
(If you like to sing or listen to hymns, this site contains the written words and the background piano music to go with them.)
When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
When you begin the day, O never fail to say,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
And at your work rejoice, to sing with heart and voice,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this at meals your grace, in every time and place;
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this, when day is past, of all your thoughts the last:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
When evil thoughts molest, with this I shield my breast,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The night becomes as day when from the heart we say:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The powers of darkness fear when this sweet chant they hear:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
In Heav’n’s eternal bliss the loveliest strain is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let earth, and sea and sky from depth to height reply,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Sing this eternal song through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
6 comments:
Thank you for sharing these wonderful lyrics! I LOVE the old hymns, as you know and think the hymnal is one of the BEST devotional books around! Victory in Jesus, Rock of Ages, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Count Your Blessings, Great is Thy Faithfulness, The Love of God, Trust and Obey, and on and on.
Oh, Charity! I haven't sung this hymn in ages! What a beautiful reminder of our need to Praise HIM!
By the way...I agree with Marilyn...I love those old hymns....such truth to be found in many of their words!
I have to confess, I'm more into the contemporary worship songs, but this is a hymn I remember singing as a child / teenager, and I never realized how beautiful the words were until now! I do love some of the older hymns.
I remember singing this one as a child too! Never realized how poignant those words are before. I'm going to be singing this one today as well. Thanks, Charity!
i confess, the first line of MY song would have to be....
When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries:
I just want a little more sleep!
how i wish those lyrics were the first thoughts to spring from my heart!
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