Scripture Verse

May God give you of the dew of Heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. Genesis 27:28

Introduction

Words: Ben­ja­min Bed­dome (1717–1795). Pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Adapt­ed to Pub­lic Wor­ship (Lon­don: Bu­rton & Briggs, 1818), num­ber 726. Alarming Drought.

Music: Wal­sall, at­trib­ut­ed to Hen­ry Pur­cell (1658–1695) (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Bed­dome (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
Henry Purcell (1658–1695)

Lyrics

Oh Lord, we trem­ble at Thy frown,
And dread Thy scourg­ing hand;
The va­ried sins and crimes we own,
Of this our guil­ty land.

But spare, oh Lord, in mer­cy spare
The her­bage of the field;
And un­der Thy pater­nal care,
May it abun­dance yield.

Restrain the so­lar fer­vid ray,
And grant re­fresh­ing rains;
Restore the ver­dure from de­cay,
And drench the parch­èd plains.

But speak the word, and soon shall rise
The faint and wi­thered grain;
And hopeful pros­pects of sup­plies,
Our hearts shall raise again.

Then we our gra­ti­tude will show,
To our pre­ser­ver, God;
Our songs of me­lo­dy shall flow,
And spread His praise abroad.