THE FUNERAL MUSIC COMPANY

Transcription

1 THE FUNERAL MUSIC COMPANY Linear House, Peyton Place, Greenwich, London SE10 8RS Tel: Hill Street Edinburgh EH2 3JP Tel: website: THE WORDS OF SOME HYMNS SUITABLE FOR FUNERALS Below are the words for nine of the most frequently-chosen hymns for church funerals. At most funerals, families choose two or three hymns. For further information about live music for funerals, please call us on (London) or (Edinburgh) or us at * * * * * * * * 1. Abide with me 2. Dear Lord and father of mankind 3. Guide me, O thou great redeemer 4. The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended 5. Praise, my soul, the king of heaven 6. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord 7. The Lord s my shepherd, I ll not want 8. Jerusalem 9. The king of love my shepherd is * * * * * * * * 1. Abide with me Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life s little day; Earth s joys grow dim; its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see; O thou who changest not, abide with me. I need thy presence every passing hour. What but thy grace can foil the tempter s power? Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me. I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. Where is death s sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if thou abide with me. Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven s morning breaks, and earth s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

2 2. Dear Lord and father of mankind Dear Lord and father of mankind, Forgive our foolish ways; Reclothe us in our rightful mind, In purer lives thy service find, In deeper reverence, praise. In simple trust like theirs who heard, Beside the Syrian sea, The gracious calling of the Lord, Let us, like them, without a word, Rise up and follow thee. O Sabbath rest by Galilee, O calm of hills above, Where Jesus knelt to share with thee The silence of eternity, Interpreted by love! Drop thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of thy peace. Breathe through the heats of our desire Thy coolness and thy balm; Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still, small voice of calm. 3. Guide me, O thou great redeemer Guide me, O thou great redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but thou art mighty, Hold me with thy powerful hand: Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more. Open now the crystal fountain Whence the healing stream doth flow; Let the fire and cloudy pillar Lead me all my journey through: Strong deliverer, Be thou still my strength and shield. When I tread the verge of Jordan, Bid my anxious fears subside: Death of death, and hell s destruction Land me safe on Canaan s side: Songs of praises I will ever give to thee.

3 4. The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended, The darkness falls at thy behest; To thee our morning hymns ascended, Thy praise shall sanctify our rest. We thank thee that thy church, unsleeping, While earth rolls onward into light, Through all the world her watch is keeping, And rests not now by day or night. As o er each continent and island The dawn leads on another day, The voice of prayer is never silent, Nor dies the strain of praise away. The sun that bids us rest is waking Our brethren neath the western sky, And hour by hour fresh lips are making Thy wondrous doings heard on high. So be it, Lord; thy throne shall never, Like earth s proud empires, pass away: Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever, Till all thy creatures own thy sway. 5. Praise, my soul, the king of heaven Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; To his feet thy tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Who like me his praise should sing? Praise the everlasting King. Praise him for his grace and favour To our fathers in distress. Praise him still the same as ever, Slow to chide, and swift to bless. Glorious in his faithfulness. Fatherlike he tends and spares us; Well our feeble frame he knows. In his hands he gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes. Widely as his mercy flows. Angels, help us to adore him; Ye behold him face to face; Sun and moon, bow down before him, Dwellers all in time and space. Praise with us the God of grace.

4 6. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. Glory, glory hallelujah! His truth is marching on. He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat; Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him! be jubilant, my feet; Our God is marching on. Glory, glory hallelujah! Our God is marching on. In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me: As he died to make men holy, let us live to make men free; While God is marching on. Glory, glory hallelujah! While God is marching on. He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave, He is wisdom to the mighty, he is honour to the brave; So the world shall be his footstool, and the soul of wrong his slave, Our God is marching on. Glory, glory hallelujah! Our God is marching on. 7. The Lord s my shepherd, I ll not want 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. 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. Yea, though I walk in death s dark vale, Yet will I fear no ill; For thou art with me; and thy rod And staff me comfort still. My table thou hast furnishèd In presence of my foes; My head thou dost with oil anoint, And my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy all my life Shall surely follow me; And in God s house for evermore My dwelling place shall be.

5 8. Jerusalem And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England s mountains green? And was the Holy Lamb of God On England s pleasant pastures seen? And did the countenance divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among those dark satanic mills? Bring me my bow of burning gold! Bring me my arrows of desire! Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire! I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England s green and pleasant land. 9. The king of love my shepherd is The King of love my shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never, I nothing lack if I am his And he is mine forever. Where streams of living water flow My ransomed soul he leadeth, And where the verdant pastures grow, With food celestial feedeth. Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love he sought me, And on his shoulder gently laid, And home, rejoicing, brought me. 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. Thou spread st a table in my sight; Thy unction grace bestoweth; And O what transport of delight From thy pure chalice floweth! And so through all the length of days Thy goodness faileth never; Good shepherd, may I sing thy praise Within thy house forever.