Scripture Verse

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:8

Introduction

portrait
Philip Doddridge
1702–1751

Words: Phi­lip Dodd­ridge (1702–1751). Pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Found­ed on Va­ri­ous Texts in the Ho­ly Scrip­tures, by Job Or­ton (Shrop­shire, Eng­land: Jo­shua Ed­dowes & John Cot­ton, 1755), num­ber 82: Isai­ah’s obe­die­nce to the hea­ven­ly vi­sion.

Music: Lou­van Vir­gil C. Tay­lor, Cho­ral An­thems (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: 1850) (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Tay­lor (head-and-shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els), would you ?

illustration
Seraph Touches Coal to Isaiah’s Lips

Lyrics

Our God ascends His lofty throne,
Arrayed in majesty unknown;
His luster all the temple fills,
And spreads over all th’ethereal hills.

The holy, holy, holy Lord,
By all the seraphim adored,
And, while they stand beneath His seat,
They veil their faces, and their feet.

And can a sinful worm endure
The presence of a God so pure?
Or these polluted lips proclaim
The honors of so grand a name?

O for Thine altar’s glowing coal,
To touch my lips, to fire my soul,
To purge the sordid dross away,
And into crystal turn my clay.

Then if a messenger Thou ask,
A laborer for the hardest task,
Thro’ all my weakness, and my fear,
Love shall reply, Thy servant’s here.

Nor should my willing soul complain,
Tho’ all its efforts seemed in vain;
It ample recompense shall be,
But to have wrought, my God, for Thee.