Most of us know that Francis Scott Key wrote our country’s national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner . However, I was completely unaware that he wrote something as theologically “loaded” as this hymn!
Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise thee
For the bliss thy love bestows,
For the pard'ning grace that saves me,
And the peace that from it flows;
Help, O God, my weak endeavor;
This dull soul to rapture raise;
Thou must light the flame, or never
Can my love be warmed to praise.
Praise, my soul, the God that sought thee,
Wretched wand'rer far astray;
Found thee lost, and kindly brought thee
From the paths of death away;
Praise, with love's devoutest feeling,
Him who saw thy guilt-born fear,
And, the light of hope revealing,
Bade the blood-stained cross appear.
Praise thy Saviour God that drew thee
To that cross, new life to give,
Held a blood-sealed pardon to thee,
Bade thee look to him and live;
Praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee,
Roused thee from thy fatal ease,
Praise the grace whose promise warmed thee,
Praise the grace that whispered peace.
Lord, this bosom's ardent feeling
Vainly would my lips express;
Low before thy footstool kneeling,
Deign thy suppliant's prayer to bless:
Let thy love, my soul's chief treasure,
Love's pure flame within me raise,
And, since words can never measure,
Let my life show forth thy praise.
I’m not all that excited about the tune that goes along with the hymn--but, I would like to sing it. Leave me a comment if you think of a hymn tune that fits these words.
1 comment:
Especially like this line: "Let thy love, my soul's chief treasure, Love's pure flame within me raise, And, since words can never measure, Let my life show forth thy praise."
I have some hymn tunes running through my mind...but I can't think of the titles or their numbers in the hymn book! Will let you know when I have a hymn book handy! Thanks for this blog.
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