Songs/Poems of Praise and Worship

Adoration

Almighty One! I bend in dust before Thee;
Even so veiled cherubs bend;
In calm and still devotion I adore Thee,
All-wise, all-present Friend!

Thou to the earth its emerald robes hast given
Or curtained it in snow;
And the bright sun, and the soft moon in heaven,
Before Thy presence bow.

Thou Power sublime! whose throne is firmly seated
On stars and glowing suns;
O, could I praise Thee, could my soul, elated,
Waft Thee seraphic tones,
Had I the lyres of angels, could I bring Thee
An offering worthy Thee,
In what bright notes of glory would I sing Thee,
Blest notes of ecstasy!

Eternity! Eternity! how solemn,
How terrible the sound!
Here, leaning on thy promises, a column
Of strength, may I be found,
O, let my heart be ever Thine, while beating,
As when twill cease to beat!
Be Thou my portion, till that awful meeting
When I my God shall greet!

~Sir John Bowring~
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The Unity of God

One God! one Majesty!
There is no God but Thee!
Unbounded, unextended Unity!

Awful in unity,
O God! we worship Thee
More simply one, because supremely Three!

Dread, unbeginning One!
Single, yet not alone,
Creation hath not set Thee on a higher throne.

Unfathomable Sea!
All life is out of Thee,
And Thy life is Thy blissful Unity.

All things that from Thee run,
All works that Thou hast done,
Thou didst in honor of Thy being One.

And by Thy being One,
Ever by that alone,
Couldst Thou do, and doest, what Thou hast done.

We from Thy oneness come,
Beyond it cannot roam,
And in Thy goodness find our one eternal home.

Blest be Thy unity!
All joys are one to me,
The joy that there can be no other God than Thee!

~Fredrick William Faber~
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I've Turned My Back Upon the World

I've turned my back upon the world
With all its idle pleasures,
And set my heart on better things,
On higher, holier treasures;
No more its glitter and its glare,
And vanity shall blind me;
I've crossed the separating line,
And left the world behind me.

~Elisha A. Hoffman~
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We're Marching to Zion

Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord,
Join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround the throne.

We're marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We're marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

Let those refuse to sing
Who never knew our God;
But children of the heavenly King,
But children of the heavenly King
May speak their joys abroad,
May speak their joys abroad.

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields,
Before we reach the heavenly fields,
Or walk the golden streets,
Or walk the golden streets.

Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry;
We're marching through Emmanuel's ground,
We're marching through Emmanuel's ground,
To fairer worlds on high,
To fairer worlds on high.

~Isaac Watts~
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A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A mighty fortress is Our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not His equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And through this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

~Alfred C. Sneed~