I came across this old hymn flipping through a book yesterday and realized I hadn’t heard it in a long time. It is based on Psalm 100, and an interesting history of it is here. “Old 100th” is also the name of the music by Lou­is Bour­geois.

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His folk, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.

O enter then His gates with praise;
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? the Lord our God is good;
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom Heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.

~ Wil­liam Kethe

This hymn was one of the favorites of a dear former pastor, Jesse Boyd (for whom our Jesse was named). Pastor Boyd has been with the Lord for several years now. I hadn’t thought about this hymn in a long time, but I heard it on the radio this morning. Loved ones of several different friends have passed away in the last week and a half, and this song was a sweet reminder of what they’re experiencing now. I was only going to post a few of the verses I was familiar with, but as I read these over, I don’t see how I can leave any out. But I think among my favorites are stanzas 4 and 5. You can find a MIDI version of the tune here. You can here about a 90 second clip of it here.

Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned

Majestic sweetness sits enthroned
Upon the Savior’s brow;
His head with radiant glories crowned,
His lips with grace o’erflow,
His lips with grace o’erflow.

To Christ, the Lord, let every tongue
Its noblest tribute bring
When He’s the subject of the song,
Who can refuse to sing?
Who can refuse to sing?

Survey the beauties of His face,
And on His glories dwell;
Think of the wonders of His grace,
And all His triumphs tell,
And all His triumphs tell.

No mortal can with Him compare
Among the sons of men;
Fairer is He than all the fair
Who fill the heav’nly train,
Who fill the heav’nly train.

He saw me plunged in deep distress
And flew to my relief;
For me He bore the shameful cross
And carried all my grief,
And carried all my grief.

His hand a thousand blessings pours
Upon my guilty head:
His presence gilds my darkest hours,
And guards my sleeping bed,
And guards my sleeping bed.

To Him I owe my life and breath
And all the joys I have;
He makes me triumph over death
And saves me from the grave,
And saves me from the grave.

To Heav’n, the place of His abode,
He brings my weary feet;
Shows me the glories of my God,
And makes my joys complete,
And makes my joys complete.

Since from His bounty I receive
Such proofs of love divine,
Had I a thousand hearts to give,
Lord, they should all be Thine,
Lord, they should all be Thine.

Words by Samuel Stennett, 1787
Music by Thomas Hastings

O Lord, your love is so vast and so wide,
Freely given to all who believe.
It sores above the highest sky
And it floods the deepest sea.
It moved your heart to send your only Son
To die on Calvary’s tree.
And now your love has been poured in my soul
That its waters may flow through me.

O Lord, I come to you with great shame
For I fear that my work is in vain.
I am moved by the sound of man’s empty praise
When I serve others in your name.
If I give my wealth as a gift to the poor
Or my body to the flames of the fire,
Still all will be lost when I stand in your sight,
If my motives are not love-inspired.

O Lord, how I long to be filled with your love.
I lift up my dry thirsty soul.
Overcome this love I have for myself
As I yield to the Spirit’s control.
May the love of Christ increase in my heart
And my knowledge of Him ever grow
So my service I give to my King above
Will reflect the love that He’s shown.

~ Rima Hourani

From the CD Higher Ground by the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team.

(Photo taken by my husband at Folly Beach in Charleston, SC)

Most of us are very familiar with the last stanza of this, the Doxology, but the rest is quite rich as well:

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.

By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.

In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

All praise to Thee, who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.

Heav’n is, dear Lord, where’er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul ’tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

~ Thomas Ken, Man­u­al of Pray­ers for the Use of the Schol­ars of Win­ches­ter Col­lege, 1674.

(A bit of interesting background information on this hymn can be found here.)

This is a song from the Steve Pettit team‘s CD So High the Price that really speaks to me. Apparently it is based on a prayer from the Valley of Vision collection of Puritan Prayers. You can hear a bit of it by going here and clicking on “O Great God.”

O Great God

O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven’s joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life
That’s dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me

~ Words and Music by Bob Kauflin

Another lovely new-to-me song from the Steve Pettit Team CD So High the Price.

Have You Heard?

Have you heard about Jesus? Do you know who He is?
He’s the very Son of God, He’s the King of Kings.
Have you heard of the gospel? Do you know what it is?
It tells us Jesus died for us to save us from our sins.

This is the best news that we could ever hear;
More than amazing, it drives out every fear.
By trusting in Jesus Christ and His saving sacrifice
We can be made new, we can be made new.

Have you heard of the promise God has made to us all?
That if we turn from our sinful ways and put our faith in His Son.
He will freely forgive us, He will wash us clean
And when we stand before His throne He will shout, “Welcome in!”

This is the best news that we could ever hear;
More than amazing, it drives out every fear.
By trusting in Jesus Christ and His saving sacrifice
We can be made new, we can be made new.

~ Words and music by Zach Jones