My God, how wonderful thou art,
thy majesty how bright,
how beautiful thy mercy seat,
in depths of burning light!
How dread are thine eternal years,
O everlasting Lord,
by prostrate spirits day and night
incessantly adored!
How wonderful, how beautiful,
the sight of thee must be,
thine endless wisdom, boundless power,
and aweful purity!
O how I fear thee, living God,
with deepest, tenderest fears,
and worship thee with trembling hope
and penitential tears!
Yet I may love thee too, O Lord,
almighty as thou art,
for thou hast stooped to ask of me
the love of my poor heart.
No earthly father loves like thee,
no mother, e'er so mild,
bears and forbears as thou hast done
with me, thy sinful child.
Father of Jesus, love's reward,
what rapture it will be,
prostrate before thy throne to lie,
and gaze and gaze on thee!
These words were written by Frederick Faber (1814-1863), British theologian, preacher, and hymnwriter. Having converted to Catholicism as an adult, and being a strong supporter of congregational singing, he wrote hymns that had lyrics which would be suitable to Catholics. Many of his hymns are sung in Protestant churches as well (sometimes with minor changes to the lyrics).
Go here to see a video of a New Zealand choir singing this hymn. (Remember to stop the blog music first...scroll down on the right to find the pause button.)
2 comments:
Amen! Amen! That's a wonderful hymn and the choir (especially the acapella section) was a great pleasure this morning!! With an alto (you) and tenor (me) we just need a bass and soprano to attempt a quartet to sing a hymn at church! :o)
By the way, I quoted your blog post about our avoidance of death yesterday... you were spot on!!
Thanks for the good thinking!!
Isn't that choir great?! The setting (the church) isn't too shabby, either! This was a hymn on the Sing for Joy website to accompany this week's scriptures.
Not that I pretend to be an authority on death, but here's something else to add. In the past, most people passed through the church graveyard every Sunday. They saw loved ones and neighbors die of diseases and injuries that today are nothing to us. We, on the other hand, see LOTS of "death" in movies, TV shows, and video games. Yet, we are far less equipped to face it than our forefathers.
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