Sunday, September 15, 2013

37. John 12:23-33 Hymn

"Amen, Amen," the Savior said:
"Unless a grain be buried, dead,
It will not sprout, will not take root,
Will never bear abundant fruit.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

"Who loves his life, the same will lose;
They who this world's allure refuse
Will keep their life from age to age:
The cross their way, the crown their wage.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

"Who serves Me, he shall walk My road,
Shall drink My cup, shall bear My load.
For where the Master, there the slave;
Him shall the Lord reward and save.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

"My soul is troubled; shall I cower
And pray, 'Lord, save Me from this hour'?
This is the task toward which I speed,
Drawn by your race's deepest need.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

"For this, the Father's voice was heard;
For this the seer's God-given word,
The psalmist's lay, the law's bold stroke,
The blood-stained altar's ordered smoke.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

"And now God's Son is glorified;
Thus say to all who say He died.
Once lifted up in death and pain,
I'll draw all men to Me again.
Lord, glorify Thy name!"

Now Lord, whose every word is true,
Even as Jesus promised, do:
Thy love and pardon did He plight
Through His last testament and rite.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

Who died for us upon the tree,
Our tree of life henceforth shall be;
Alive, in breaking bread made known,
He draws us now to be His own.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

From what He offered on the cross
We take without a doubt or gloss;
As many grains become one bread,
We thus unite in Him, our Head.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

In Him we have our life and breath;
In Him our cross; in Him our death.
So, purified by Jesus' blood,
Our flesh receives its highest good.
Lord, glorify Thy name!

Christ's is the body, Christ's the blood
That Christ gives us as holy food;
On us Christ's altar-smoke is waved.
We, souls and bodies healed and saved,
Now glorify Thy name.

EDIT: I wrote this original (?) tune today to go with this hymn. I have even harmonized it, in case anyone is interested! Original first line: "How truly, truly Jesus said..."

1 comment:

RobbieFish said...

Unfortunately, the only hymn tune I know of in this meter is Albert Peace's ST. MARGARET ("O love that will not let me go"). So I'm going to have to write an original tune again, if I want to try singing this.