Above:  All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia, May 14, 2017

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Original Text (1736) by Charles Coffin (1676-1749)

English Translation (1863) by James Russell Woodford (1820-1885)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1911), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

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Lord of the hearts of men,

Thou hast vouchsafed to bless,

From age to age, Thy chosen saints

With fruits of holiness.

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Here faith and hope and love

Reign in sweet bond allied;

There, when this little day is o’er,

Shall love alone abide.

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O love, O truth, O light!

Light never to decay!

O rest from thousand labors past!

O endless Sabbath day!

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Here, amid cares and tears,

Bearing the seed we come;

There, with rejoicing hearts, we bring

Our harvest burdens home.

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Give, mighty Lord Divine,

The fruits Thyself dost love;

Soon shalt Thou, from Thy judgment-seat,

Crown Thine own gifts above.

Above:  St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, LaGrange, Georgia, June 5, 2016

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Original German Text (1723) by Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760)

English Translation (1789) by Bishop Frederick William Foster (1760-1835)

Hymn Source = Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) (1923)

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Christian hearts, in love united,

Seek alone in Jesus rest;

Has He not your love excited?

Then let love inspire each breast;

Members–on our Head depending,

Lights–reflecting Him, our Sun,

Brethren–His commands attending,

We in Him, our Lord, are one.

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Come, then, O flock of Jesus,

Covenant with Him anew;

Unto Him, Who conquered for us,

Pledge we love and service true;

And should our love’s union holy

Firmly linked no more remain,

Wait ye at His footstool lowly,

Till He draw it close again.

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Grant, Lord, that with Thy direction,

“Love each other,” we comply,

Aiming with unfeigned affection

Thy love to exemplify;

Let our mutual love be glowing,

Thus will all men plainly see,

That we, as on one stem growing,

Living branches are in Thee.

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O that such may be our union,

As Thine with the Father is,

And not one of our communion

E’er forsake the path of bliss;

May our light ‘fore men with brightness,

From Thy light reflected, shine;

Thus the world will bear us witness,

That we, Lord, are truly Thine.

Above:  The Reading of the Gospel, St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia, February 28, 2016

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Original German Text (1735) by Countess Erdmuth Dorothea von Zinzendorf (1700-1756)

English Translation (1742) by William Delamotte (1718-1743), altered

Hymn Source = Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) (1923)

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Arise, O Lord, exalt Thy grace,

Thy precious Gospel spread;

That for the travail of Thy soul

Thou mayst behold Thy seed.

Oh may Thy knowledge fill the earth;

Increase the number still

Of those who in Thy Word believe,

And do Thy holy will.

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Lord, by Thy Spirit us prepare

To follow Thy command,

To execute Thy utmost aim,

And in Thy presence stand,

As servants willing to be used,

Who in Thy work delight,

And offer freely praise and prayer

As incense day and night.

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Hereto we gladly say, Amen;

We have this truth avowed,

That we in spirit, body, soul,

Are bound to serve our God,

Who touched, and drew, and wooed our hearts,

And conquered us by love;

To Him we have engaged ourselves,

Oh may we faithful prove.

Above:  St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Decatur, Georgia, June 12, 2016

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text by Johannes de Watteville (1718-1788)

Hymn Source = Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) (1923)

Sung to THE OLD HUNDREDTH

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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The love of God so highly prized,

The Holy Ghost’s communion be

With all of us most sensibly.

Above:  Ordination of Priests, the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia, June 25, 2016

Image Source = Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Original German Text by Johannes de Watteville (1718-1788)

English Translation (1789)

Hymn Source = Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (1969)

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Lord Jesus, with Thy presence bless,

By land and sea, Thy witnesses;

In every danger them defend,

In every trial prove their friend.

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O may Thy Word in Christendom

Be blest and may Thy Kingdom come;

And may Thy servants joyful bring

New spoils, each day, to Thee, their King.

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Thy thoughts of peace o’er us fulfill,

Incline our hearts to do Thy will,

Thy Gospel make more fully known,

May all the world Thy goodness own.

Above:  Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Cartersville, Georgia, May 13, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = Hymns of the Spirit (1937), American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America

Text (1795) by John Taylor (1750-1826)

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1.  Lord, what off’ring shall we bring,

At thine altars, when we bow?

Hearts, the pure, unsullied spring

Whence the kind affections flow;

2.  Soft compassion’s feeling soul,

By the melting eye expressed;

Sympathy, at whose control

Sorrow leaves the wounded breast.

Above:  Dawn on a River

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source #1 = The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada (1971)

Hymn Source #2 = Moravian Book of Worship (1995), Moravian Church in America

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Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, offers a different translation, the first words of which are “Rise, O Sun of Righteousness.”

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The Moravian Book of Worship (1995) contains an altered translation, which begins:

Sun of righteousness, arise;

dawn upon our clouded skies;….

C. Daniel Crews (1947-) and Roy Ledbetter (1949-) prepared their translation in 1977.  Crews revised it in 1994.

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The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada (1971) contains the first four stanzas.  The Moravian Book of Worship (1995) contains the fifth stanza.

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Stanza #1 by Christian David (1690-1751); Translated by Jay Macpherson (1931-2012)

Stanzas #2 and 4 by Christian Gottlob Barth (1799-1862); Translated by Jay Macpherson (1931-2012)

Stanza #3 by Johann Christian Nehring (1671-1736); Translated by Jay Macpherson (1931-2012)

Stanza #5 by Johann Christian Nehring (1671-1736); Translated by C. Daniel Crews (1947-) and Roy Ledbetter (1949-)

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1.  Sun of righteousness, shine forth;

dawn upon this age of earth;

in thy church let light appear,

till the world shall see it clear.

Have mercy, Lord.

2.  Wake dead Christendom from sleep,

lapped in comfort, drowsing deep;

tell thy name and acts abroad;

show this land thou art God.

Have mercy, Lord.

3.  See our sad divisions, Lord;

heal by thy unbroken word;

gather, shepherd of mankind,

all the lost, the hurt, the blind.

Have mercy, Lord.

4.  Help us to behold afar

in this age thy glory’s star,

that, in what small strength we own,

knightly virtue may be show.

Have mercy, Lord.

5.  Glory, praise, and royal might

to our God of endless light,

who is perfect, three in one,

and unites us in the Son:

have mercy, Lord.

Above:  Suthers Center for Christian Outreach, Chamblee, Georgia, April 15, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (1969), Moravian Church in America

The Moravian Book of Worship (1995) contains a version of this hymn with modernized pronouns.

Stanza #1 by Anna Nitschmann (1715-1760); Translated by Frederick William Foster (1760-1835)

Stanza #2 by Henriette Luise von Hayn (1724-1782); Translated by an anonymous Moravian

According to Albert H. Frank, Companion to the Moravian Book of Worship (2004), North American Moravian hymnals from 1786 to 1969 attributed the text to Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760) inaccurately.  (My copies of the 1923 and 1969 Hymnal and Liturgies contain that attribution.)  Charles Adams corrected that error in Our Moravian Hymn Heritage (1984).

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1.  In mercy, Lord, this grace bestow,

That in Thy service we may do

With gladness and a willing mind

Whatever is for us assigned.

2.  Grant we, impelled by Thy love,

In smallest things may faithful prove;

Till we depart, we wish to be

Devoted wholly unto Thee.

Above:  St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Canton, Georgia, September 20, 2009

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Original German Words by Gerhardt Tersteegen (1697-1769)

English Translation (1789) by Frederick William Foster (1760-1835) and (1800s) by William Mercer (1811-1873)

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1.  God reveals His presence;

Let us now adore Him,

And with awe appear before Him:

God is in His temple;

All in us keep silence,

And before Him bow with rev’rence:

Him alone God we own;

He’s our Lord and Saviour:

Praise His Name forever.

2.  God reveals His presence,

Whom the angelic legions

Serve with awe in heavenly regions:

Holy, holy, holy,

Sing the hosts of heaven;

Praise to God be ever given:

Condescend, to attend

Graciously, to Jesus,

To our songs and praises.

3.  O majestic Being,

Were but soul and body

Thee to serve at all times ready:

Might we, like the angels

Who behold Thy glory,

With abasement sink before Thee,

And through grace be always,

In our whole demeanor,

To Thy praise and honor.

Above:  The Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia, January 23, 2014

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Original German Words by Benjamin Schmolck (1672-1737)

English Translation by Alfred Ramsey (1860-1926)

Hymn Source = Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996), Evangelical Lutheran Synod

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1.  O how holy is this place

Where the Lord a house hath given!

Here we come before His face;

This must be the gate of heaven.

Here His Word proclaims His grace.

O how holy is this place!

2.  Thousand thanks, great God, arise

Unto Thee, in grace excelling.

Who, though filling all the skies,

Yet dost make this house Thy dwelling,

And to us dost here dispense

Thy pure Word and Sacraments.

3.  Hither to upon this house

Hath salvation surely rested.

Here our God hath been with us,

And Himself hath manifested.

Here His Spirit He hath giv’n

To reveal the way to heav’n.

4.  O how lovely, meet and right

In His temple to a adore Him!

Let us now in Him delight,

And with gladness come before Him.

Treasures lasting, precious pure,

From above we here secure.

5.  Dearest Guest, with us abide,

With Thy holy Word still feed us;

Hitherto by Thee supplied,

Still by living waters lead us!

Keep Thy Church secure

While the earth itself endure.