Scripture Verse

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name. 2 Samuel 22:50

Introduction

portrait
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems 1740.

Music: Can­ter­bu­ry Or­lan­do Gib­bons, in Hymnes and Songs of the Church, by George Wi­ther, 1623 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)

Lyrics

Come and let us sweet­ly join,
Christ to praise in hymns di­vine;
Give we all with one ac­cord
Glory to our com­mon Lord.

Sing we then in Je­sus’ name,
Now as yes­ter­day the same;
One in ev­ery time and place,
Full for all of truth and grace.

We for Christ, our mas­ter, stand,
Lights in a ben­ight­ed land:
We our dy­ing Lord con­fess;
We are Je­sus’ wit­ness­es.

Witnesses that Christ hath died,
We with Him are cru­ci­fied;
Christ hath burst the bands of death,
We His quick­en­ing Spi­rit breathe.

Strive we, in af­fect­ion strive;
Let the pur­er flame re­vive,
Such as in the mar­tyrs glowed,
Dying cham­pi­ons for their God.

Make us all in Thee com­plete,
Make us all for glo­ry meet,
Meet to ap­pear be­fore Thy sight,
Partners with the saints in light.

We, like them, may live and love;
Called we are their joys to prove,
Saved with them from fu­ture wrath,
Partners of like pre­cious faith.

Let the fruits of grace abound;
Let in us Thy vow­els sound;
Faith, and love, and joy in­crease,
Temperance and gen­tle­ness.

Plant in us Thy hum­ble mind;
Patient, pi­ti­ful, and kind,
Meek and low­ly let us be,
Full of good­ness, full of Thee.

Christ is now gone up on high,
Where to Him our wish­es fly;
Sits at God’s right hand above;
There with Him we reign in love!

Come, Thou high and lof­ty Lord!
Lowly, meek, in­car­nate Word!
Humbly stoop to earth again,
Come and vi­sit abj­ect men!

Hands and hearts and voic­es raise,
Sing as in the an­cient days;
Antedate the joys above,
Celebrate the feast of love.

Jesus, dear ex­pect­ed Guest,
Thou art bid­den to the feast,
For Thy­self our hearts pre­pare,
Come, and sit, and ban­quet there!

Jesus, we Thy pro­mise claim,
We are met in Thy great name;
In the midst do Thou ap­pear,
Manifest Thy pre­sence here!

Sanctify us, Lord, and bless,
Breathe Thy Spi­rit, give Thy peace,
Thou Thy­self with­in us move,
Make our feast a feast of love.

Call, O call us each by name,
To the mar­riage of the Lamb;
Let us lean up­on Thy breast,
Love be there our end­less feast!

Let us join (’tis God com­mands)
Let us join our hearts and hands
Help to gain our call­ing’s hope,
Build we each the oth­er up.

God His bless­ings shall dis­pense,
God shall crown His or­di­nance;
Meet in His ap­point­ed ways;
Nourish us with so­cial grace.

Let us then as breth­ren love,
Faithfully His gifts im­prove,
Carry on the ear­nest strife,
Walk in ho­li­ness of life.

Still for­get the things be­hind,
Follow Christ in heart and mind,
Toward the mark un­wea­ried press,
Seize the crown of right­eous­ness.

Plead we thus for faith alone,
Faith which by our works is shown:
God it is who jus­ti­fies;
Only faith the grace ap­plies.

Active faith that lives with­in,
Conquers earth, and hell, and sin,
Sanctifies, and makes us whole,
Forms the Sav­ior in the soul.

Let us for this faith con­tend,
Sure sal­va­tion is its end:
Heaven al­rea­dy is begun,
Everlasting life is won.

Only let us per­se­vere,
Till we see our Lord ap­pear,
Never from the Rock re­move,
Saved by faith, which works by love.

Partners of a glo­ri­ous hope,
Lift your hearts and voic­es up,
Jointly let us rise, and sing
Christ our pro­phet, priest, and king.

Monuments of Je­sus’ grace,
Speak we by our lives His praise;
Walk in Him we have re­ceived,
Show we not in vain be­lieved.

While we walk with God in light,
God our hearts doth still unite;
Dearest fel­low­ship we prove,
Fellowship in Je­sus’ love.

Sweetly each, with each com­bined,
In the bonds of du­ty joined,
Feels the cleans­ing blood ap­plied,
Daily feels that Christ hath died.

Still, O Lord, our faith in­crease,
Cleanse from all un­right­eous­ness,
Thee the un­ho­ly can­not see;
Make, O make us meet for Thee!

Every vile af­fect­ion kill,
Root out ev­ery seed of ill,
Utterly abo­lish sin,
Write Thy law of love with­in.

Hence may all our act­ions flow,
Love the proof that Christ we know;
Mutual love the to­ken be,
Lord, that we be­long to Thee

Love, Thine im­age, love im­part!
Stamp it on our face and heart!
Only love to us be giv­en!
Lord, we ask no oth­er hea­ven.