Field Stone Cottage Blog

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Sunday's Hymn: As With Gladness Men of Old

As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright;
So, most gracious God, may we
Evermore be led to thee.

As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly cradle bed,
There to bend the knee before
Him whom heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek thy mercy-seat.

As they offered gifts most rare
At that cradle rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy,
Pure, and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to thee, our heav'nly King.

Holy Jesus, ev'ry day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds thy glory hide.

In the heav'nly country bright
Need they no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down;
There for ever may we sing
Alleluias to our King.

William C. Dix, 1861
Tune: Dix, Arr. from Conrad Kocher, 1838

4 comments:

ellen b. said...

Beautiful Dorothy. Happy New Year to you...

rosemary said...

"Holy Jesus, ev'ry day, keep us in the narrow way." Amen and amen, all the new year long.

Persis said...

Ditto to Rosemary. Oh to be kept in the narrow way!

robert said...

Greetings from Wordwise Hymns. Thanks for posting William Dix's fine carol. (And it's nice to see that last stanza including, which some hymn books omit.) God bless.