Traditional Church Hymns

Common Praise No. 251

1. All things bright and beautiful,
    all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
    the Lord God made them all.

2. Each little flower that opens,
    each little bird that sings,
he made their glowing colours,
    he made their tiny wings:

3. The purple-headed mountain,
    the river running by,
the sunset, and the morning
    that brightens up the sky:

4. The cold wind in the winter,
    the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruits in the garden,
    he made them every one:

5. The tall trees in the greenwood,
    the meadows where we play,
the rushes by the water,
we gather every day.

6. He gave us eyes to see them,
    And lips that we might tell
how great is God almighty,
who has made all things well.

Verse 4 is often omitted

Words by Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander
Tune (t. All Things Bright and Beautiful)
(public domain).

Common Praise No. 175

    Come down, O love divine,
    seek thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with thine own ardor glowing.
    O Comforter, draw near,
    within my heart appear,
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.

    O let it freely burn,
    till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
    And let Thy glorious light
    shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

    Let holy charity
    mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
    True lowliness of heart,
    which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

    And so the yearning strong,
    with which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the power of human telling;
    For none can guess its grace,
    till he become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

Words from the Italian of Bi­an­co of Si­e­na (?-1434) (Di­scen­di, Amor san­to)
Tune Down Ampney
Public Domain

Common Praise No. 442

(t.Blaenwern)

1
God is Love: let heav'n adore him;
     God is Love: let earth rejoice;
let creation sing before him,
     and exalt him with one voice.
He who laid the earth's foundation,
     he who spread the heav'ns above,
he who breathes through all creation,
     he is Love, eternal Love.

2
God is Love: and he enfoldeth
     all the world in one embrace;
with unfailing grasp he holdeth
     every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking
     under sorrow's iron rod,
then they find that selfsame aching
     deep within the heart of God.

3
God is Love: and though with blindness
     sin afflicts the souls of all,
God's eternal loving-kindness
     holds and guides us when we fall.
Sin and death and hell shall never
     o'er us final triumph gain;
God is Love, so Love for ever
     o'er the universe must reign.

Author: Timothy Rees (1874-1939) altered

(Can also be sung to the tunes Alleluia, or Hyfrodol)

Common Praise No. 516

(t. Love Divine)

Love divine, all loves excelling,
     joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
     all thy faithful mercies crown.

Jesu, thou art all compassion,
     pure unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
     enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
     let us all thy grace receive;
suddenly return, and never,
     never more thy temples leave.

Thee we would be always blessing,
     serve thee as thy hosts above;
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
     glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation
     pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
     perfectly restored in thee;

changed from glory into glory
     till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
     lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Words by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), altered

Common Praise No. 530

(t. Nun Danket)

     Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices,
     who wondrous things hath done,
in whom his world rejoices;
            who from our mother's arms
            hath blessed us on our way
            with countless gifts of love,
            and still is ours to-day.

     O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
     with ever joyful hearts
and blessèd peace to cheer us;
            and keep us in his grace,
            and guide us when perplexed,
            and free us from all ills
            in this world and the next.

     All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given,
     the Son, and him who reigns
with them in highest heaven,
            the one eternal God,
            whom earth and heaven adore;
            for thus it was, is now,
            and shall be evermore.

Martin Rinkart (1586-1649)
translated Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)
Tune: NUN DANKET

Common Praise No. 546

O worship the King, all glorious above;
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendour and girded with praise.

O tell of his might, O sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;
his chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is his path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, thy power hath founded of old;
Hath stablished it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might, ineffable Love,
While angels delight to hymn thee above,
Thy humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall sing to thy praise.

* Verse 3 can be omitted

Author: Robert Grant (1779-1838)
Ps 104
Tune: HANOVER (William Croft (1678 - 1727)

Common Praise No. 589

1 The King of love my shepherd is,
     whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his,
     and He is mine for ever.

2 Where streams of living water flow
     my ransomed soul He leadeth,
and where the verdant pastures grow
     with food celestial feedeth.

3 Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
     but yet in love he sought me,
and on his shoulder gently laid,
     and home rejoicing brought me.

4 In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
     with thee, dear Lord, beside me;
thy rod and staff my comfort still,
     thy Cross before to guide me.

5 Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
     thy unction grace bestoweth;
and O what transport of delight
     from thy pure chalice floweth!

6 And so through all the length of days
     thy goodness faileth never:
good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
     within thy house forever.

Author: H. W. Baker (1821-1877)
Psalm 23
Tune: DOMINUS REGIT ME (J B Dykes)

Common Praise No. 594

1. The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want;
     he makes me down to lie
in pastures green; he leadeth me
     the quiet waters by.

2. My soul he doth restore again,
     and me to walk doth make
within the paths of righteousness,
     e'en for His own Name's sake.

3. Yea, though I walk through death's dark vale,
     yet will I fear none ill,
for thou art with me, and Thy rod
     and staff me comfort still.

4. A table thou hast furnishèd
     in presence of my foes;
my head thou dost with oil anoint,
     and my cup overflows.

5. Goodness and mercy all my life
     shall surely follow me;
and in God's house for evermore
     my dwelling-place shall be.

Words Psalm 23 from the Scottish Psalter (1650)
Music (t. Crimond) traditional