Oh, How I Love Thy Holy Word – William Cowper

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Bible, Classic Hymns, Olney Hymns, William Cowper

O How I love Thy holy Word,
Thy gracious covenant, O Lord!
It guides me in the peaceful way,
I think upon it all the day.

What are the mines of shining wealth,
The strength of youth, the bloom of health!
What are all joys compared with those
Thine everlasting Word bestows!

Long unafflicted, undismayed,
In pleasures path secure I strayed;
Thou mad’st me feel Thy chast’ning rod,
And strait I turned unto my God.

What though it pierced my fainting heart,
I bless Thine hand that caused the smart;
It taught my tears awhile to flow,
But saved me from eternal woe.

O! hadst Thou left me unchastised,
Thy precept I had still despised;
And still the snare in secret laid,
Had my unwary feet betrayed.

I love Thee therefore O my God,
And breathe towards Thy dear abode;
Where in Thy presence fully blest,
Thy chosen saints forever rest.

William Cowper

Other classic hymns:

“In Evil Long I Took Delight” by William Cowper

“O Light That Knew No Dawn by Gregory of Nazianzus

Weekends are for Worship: A Psalm of Worship to a Holy God

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Isaac Watts, Psalms of David

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One of the gifts of Isaac Watts to the church was to adapt many of the Psalms for singing.  Here is his version of the second portion of Psalm 99.

PSALM 99 PART 2

A holy God worshiped with reverence.

Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at his feet;
His nature is all holiness,
And mercy is his seat.

When Isr’el was his church,
When Aaron was his priest,
When Moses cried, when Samuel prayed,
He gave his people rest.

Oft he forgave their sins,
Nor would destroy their race;
And oft he made his vengeance known,
When they abused his grace.

Exalt the Lord our God,
Whose grace is still the same;
Still he’s a God of holiness,
And jealous for his name.

Isaac Watts, Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Applied to the Christian State and Worship

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Classic Hymns: Arise and Render Thanks to God

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Classic Hymns, Grates Nunc Omnes, Thanksgiving

Grates Nunc Omnes.

ARISE and render thanks to God,
The Lord and King of all,
Who by his power hath made us free
From Satan’s baneful thrall.

Arise and render thanks to God,
And ever be our aim
With angels evermore to sing
The glory of his name.

- Author Unknown

The Heart Healed and Changed by Mercy

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classic hymn, Olney Hymns, William Cowper

William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) is probably best known for his hymn, “There is a Fountain Filled With Blood.” He co-wrote the “Olney Hymns” with John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace.” Here is one of those hymns, which shows the depth of spiritual understanding these men of God possessed.

Sin enslaved my many years,
And led me bound and blind;
Till at length a thousand fears
Came swarming o’er my mind.

“Where,” said I, in deep distress,
“Will these sinful pleasures end?
How shall I secure my peace,
And make the Lord my friend?”

Friends and ministers said much
The gospel to enforce;
But my blindness still was such,
I chose a legal course:

Much I fasted, watch’d and strove,
Scarce would shew my face abroad,
Fear’d almost to speak or move,
A stranger still to God.

Thus afraid to trust His grace,
Long time did I rebel;
Till despairing of my case,
Down at His feet I fell:

Then my stubborn heart He broke,
And subdued me to His sway;
By a simple word He spoke,
“Thy sins are done away.”

Begin, My Tongue, Some Heavenly Theme

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Begin My Tongue Some Heavenly Theme, classic hymn, Isaac Watts, Monday, Poetry

Love this hymn by Isaac Watts. It’s a great reminder to begin a new week to:

Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme
And speak some boundless thing;
The mighty works, or mightier Name
Of our eternal King.

Tell of His wonderful faithfulness
And sound His power abroad;
Sing the sweet promise of His grace,
The love and truth of God.

Proclaim “salvation from the Lord
For wretched, dying men”;
His hand has writ the sacred Word
With an immortal pen.

Engraved as in eternal brass
The mighty promise shines;
Nor can the powers of darkness ‘rase
Those everlasting lines.

He that can dash whole worlds to death,
And make them when He please,
He speaks, and that almighty breath
Fulfils His great decrees.

His every word of grace is strong
As that which built the skies;
The voice that rolls the stars along
Speaks all the promises.

He said, “Let the wide heav’n be spread,”
And heav’n was stretched abroad:
“Abram, I’ll be thy God,” He said,
And He was Abram’s God.

O might I hear Thy heavenly tongue
But whisper, “Thou art Mine!”
Those gentle words shall raise my song
To notes almost divine.

How would my leaping heart rejoice,
And think my heav’n secure!
I trust the all creating voice,
And faith desires no more.

“How Frail is Man” (Psalm 90 by Isaac Watts)

PSALM 90

Through every age, eternal God, Thou art our rest, our safe abode; High was thy throne ere heav’n was made, Or earth thy humble footstool laid. Long hadst thou reigned ere time began, Or dust was fashioned to a man; And long thy kingdom shall endure When earth and time shall be no more. But man, weak man, is born to die, Made up of guilt and vanity; Thy dreadful sentence, Lord, was just, “Return, ye sinners, to your dust.” [A thousand of our years amount Scarce to a day in thine account; Like yesterday's departed light, Or the last watch of ending night. Death, like an overflowing stream, Sweeps us away; our life's a dream, An empty tale, a morning flower, Cut down and withered in an hour.] [Our age to seventy years is set; How short the time! how frail the state! And if to eighty we arrive, We rather sigh and groan than live. But O how oft thy wrath appears, And cuts off our expected years! Thy wrath awakes our humble dread; We fear the power that strikes us dead.] Teach us, O Lord, how frail is man; And kindly lengthen out our span, Till a wise care of piety Fit us to die, and dwell with thee.

Come, Creator Spirit

One of the ancient liturgical music forms that I am coming to enjoy is the Gregorian chant. This obviously makes me a lot less cool than these guys, but I am O. K. with that.

All that aside, I love the beautiful simplicity of this style. Here’s a sample of a chant from the 9th century:

Veni Creator Spiritus (Come, Creator Spirit)

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heav’nly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O Comforter, to Thee we cry,
Thou heav’nly gift of God most high,
Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

O Finger of the hand divine,
the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;
true promise of the Father thou,
who dost the tongue with power endow.

Thy light to every sense impart,
and shed thy love in every heart;
thine own unfailing might supply
to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our ghostly foe,
and thine abiding peace bestow;
if thou be our preventing Guide,
no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son
and Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow
the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth

Let us Pray
O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Ghost: give to us, in the same Spirit, to know what is right, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who with Thee livest and reignest in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God. World without end. Amen

You can listen to (and download if you choose) an excellent performance of this song and follow along with the Latin lyrics while you listen.

It may not be “hip,” but it has sound theology and has endured over 1,200 years. That’s got to count for something!