Common Praise Words edition

CONTENTS

Title

Introductory matter

MORNING

EVENING

ADVENT

CHRISTMAS

CHRISTINGLE

NEW YEAR

EPIPHANY

BAPTISM OF JESUS

CANDLEMAS

LENT

PASSIONTIDE and HOLY WEEK

PALM SUNDAY

MAUNDY THURSDAY

EASTER

ASCENSION

PENTECOST

TRINITY SUNDAY

DEDICATION

SAINTS

SAINTS: ALL SAINTS’ DAY

SAINTS: ST ANDREW

SAINTS: ST JOHN THE BAPTIST

SAINTS: ST PETER

SAINTS: ST PAUL

BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

SAINT MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS

TRANSFIGURATION

CREATION

HARVEST

HOLY COMMUNION

BAPTISM and CONFIRMATION

MARRIAGE

HEALING

FUNERALS, COMMEMORATION, REMEMBRANCE and ALL SOULS

NATIONAL

GENERAL LITURGICAL SECTION

HYMNS THROUGH THE YEAR

Indexes are given at the end

Copyright

COPYRIGHT

For permission to print copyright hymns, whether in permanent or temporary form, by whatever means, application must be made to the respective owners.

GRANTS

Liberal grants of copies of Common Praise from the Council of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd are available to help parishes and others in the introduction of the book, or in the renewal of existing supplies. An application form for a grant can be obtained from Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd, 13-17 Long Lane, London EC1A 9PN.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Refrains are usually printed in italic.

An asterisk by a verse indicates that the verse or verses may be omitted without injury to the sense of the hymn.

An asterisk by an author’s name indicates that there has been an alteration to the original text. Usually this applies to deceased authors. Where a living author has given permission, or the alterations are of a minor nature, there is no sign.

At the end of most sections, e.g. after ‘Evening’, there is a ‘See also’ list of hymns that are also appropriate to the section, but which appear in the book under another section.

PREFACE

A new hymn book is a significant event in the life of the Church. And the arrival of Common Praise, a new edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern, is, to those who know and love its previous editions, an important moment. It comes at the end of a turbulent century, rich with the accumulated experience of pain, and sorrow, and hope, and love: it looks forward to the new century, with its future that no one can foretell. It does so at a time of unprecedented change, in society and in church worship, and it gathers up into itself all the hopes and apprehensions of a Church that is visibly changing in an age of experiment and scepticism. It does so with hope and faith, witnessing to the continuing traditions of Christian experience, and responding to new ways of expressing that belief.

Hymns Ancient and Modern was first published in 1860–61. By the end of the nineteenth century, it had become a national, and even imperial, institution, used in most Anglican churches in Great Britain and throughout the British Empire: so much so, that a radical new edition of 1904 was greeted with dismay, because the old ‘A and M’ had become so familiar and beloved.

Two factors contributed to its success. One was the shrewd decision by the hymn book committee to invite suggestions from the clergy and other interested parties, who were encouraged to write in with their hymns and ideas; another was the editors’ sensible following of John Keble’s advice to ‘make it comprehensive’. In addition to these basic principles, the book had the services of a remarkable music editor, William Henry Monk. Since that time, successive editors have sought to adhere to the same principles of being alert to the needs of the Church, and to a wide variety of in¿uences: Hymns Ancient and Modern has never been a book associated with any single tradition. It has become a ‘bench-mark’ hymn book, widely regarded as sound and sensible, representing the best of traditional hymnody while being open to new ideas and acknowledging change.

The Council of Hymns Ancient and Modern sought to respond to the needs of a later time with the publication of the revised edition of 1950 and then with two supplementary volumes, 100 Hymns for Today (1969) and More Hymns for Today (1980). The 1950 volume was an acclaimed hymn book, and the two supplements allowed the addition of much new material, some of it from the vigorous revival of hymn writing which had taken place since 1960. That revival sought to respond, with intelligence and poetic skill, to the rapidly-changing conditions of the time: to new forms of worship, including questions of gender and language and of changing ‘thou’ to ‘you’; to new translations of the Bible (the New English Bible inspired Timothy Dudley-Smith’s ‘Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord’); and to the demands of a modern society, transformed by rapid travel, by television and other media, and by the second industrial revolution of new technologies, including computers. Patterns of worship, also, were changing so rapidly that a new definitive edition did not seem appropriate in the 1980s: accordingly, Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard (1983) was designed to meet those new conditions. It included the core of the 1950 edition, together with the two supplements, bound in one volume.

Inevitably, some of the hymns in the two supplements have proved more successful than others; and at the end of the twentieth century the time has come for a hymn book which will gather up the finest hymns, old and new, and present them for use as material for worship in the twenty-first century. This new edition is therefore a book which looks forward as well as back. It looks back to the great riches of Anglican spirituality, to George Herbert, Charles Wesley, Henry Francis Lyte, Cecil Frances Alexander, and John Ellerton; to the non-conformist hymns of Isaac Watts, Philip Doddridge, and James Montgomery; and to the revival of pre-Reformation hymnody and Catholic spirituality by John Mason Neale and Edward Caswall. It also looks forward to a century in which those traditions will have to engage with social forces and political developments which cannot be foreseen and perhaps cannot even be imagined.

The hymn book committee has made decisions with a strong sense of what is practicable as well as desirable: for example, to produce Common Praise in book form rather than rely solely on electronic reproduction, which would have been up-to-date but impossible to use for many churches. The book could not be too large, for obvious reasons of expense and convenience, so that every hymn had to ‘earn its place’: therefore each hymn which was in Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard (and the other editions) has been re-examined; and a great many other books and single-author collections, in print and in manuscript, have been carefully scrutinized for possible new inclusions. Hymns have been included if they seemed to the committee to be serviceable, well-written, singable, clear, and unaffected: that is, without affectation of diction or sentiment, so that they may be sung without fear of embarrassment and with a full heart by people of good will and good sense. There are many examples of contemporary hymns; but there are also many hymns from previous ages which are contemporary because they are timeless. In compiling this collection, the committee envisaged a worshipping congregation of those who are open-minded, neither too wedded to experiment nor too rigid and set in their ways, who intend to ‘keep the mean between two extremes’; remembering that the original sub-title of Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1860–61 was ‘for the Services of the Church’.

In understanding ‘the Church’ at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the committee had in mind something very different from the situation of the Victorian editors. This is an age of increasing secularism: two world wars and a host of lesser but no less inhuman con¿icts in the twentieth century have created a climate of uncertainty and danger, while other changes, less dramatic but probably more devastating – global warming, genetic engineering, environmental pollution – contain possibilities and terrors which are only just beginning to be felt. Beside the very real improvements in human life – the eradication of some diseases and the better control of others, easier travel and communication – there is now the fear of the destruction of the planet, either by exhausting its natural resources through greed and carelessness, or through the appalling prospect of nuclear or biological warfare. In the face of this, a Christian hymn book points its users to the Rock of Ages, as the Church continues to affirm the centrality of the Christian faith and the need of the world for the gospel of divine love.

In addition, the Church has become more ecumenical during the last quarter of the twentieth century, so that this is a book which is not for Anglicans only: it contains hymns from many sources and in many modes, and the committee hopes that it will be seen as a book that will be useful everywhere. Hymns have an important part to play in the process of bringing Christians of different traditions closer together: at this time there is much tentative sharing of gifts and of understandings, and it is hoped that a book such as the present one will assist in this process.

Within the Church of England, however, Common Praise has its own particular place, connected with the traditional understanding of the Church’s year. The committee has benefited greatly from discussions with members of the Liturgical Commission, and this new edition may be used in conjunction with the Revised Common Lectionary, now used in Common Worship, to provide coherent worship on particular themes and for special occasions. The book should also be useful for schools and colleges, and for other communities such as prisons and hospitals; for daily worship and for mid-week meetings; and not least for private devotion. In some small worshipping groups, it may be sensible to read some of the hymns, either together or in a responsive reading, rather than attempt to sing them.

Mindful of the needs of the church in today’s world, therefore, the committee has carefully looked at the words and music of each hymn. It has developed a conservative editorial policy for hymns written before 1900, respecting the integrity of the text, the author’s known intentions, and the poetry of the original. Nevertheless, when words have become obscure, or changed their meaning, the committee has on occasion exercised its discretion and amended archaisms to produce a more accessible text. It has also been aware of the problem of gender-based language, and has gently sought to avoid this where appropriate by ‘invisible mending’.

With hymns written after 1900, the problems have been more easily resolved. The texts have not been so hallowed by time and tradition; and often the authors themselves have been sensitive to issues of non-inclusive language, while many recent or contemporary hymns have followed the practice of modern liturgies in using ‘you’ rather than ‘thou’. During the last twenty years, many authors have re-written their hymns to accommodate these concerns. Where older forms or exclusive language have remained, the committee has generally rejected the hymn or verse altogether, or sought amendments to make them acceptable to contemporary worshippers.

A certain number of worship songs have also been included. They represent a very small selection of what is available, but they should enable the book to be useful for those churches who wish to include in their services a song that has become well-tried and widely known. Similarly, the Christmas section includes a number of carols: many more could have been added, but carols are found in many easily-available books, and the present book should contain enough for most churches on the occasion of a representative and traditional carol service.

Much of the success of a good hymn depends on its music. The committee has carefully examined the music of every hymn, with a view to ensuring a marriage of words and tune which will allow it to become a successful and respected part of worship. The music allows the words to reverberate with meaning, to acquire a different and nobler life than when they are read aloud; and in congregational singing members of the Body of Christ are united in praise and thanksgiving by the shared experience of the music and the words. And although it is better, in some situations, to say the words rather than sing them badly, there is no doubt that good hymn-singing can be inspiring and uplifting. One of the great factors in the success of the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern was Monk’s outstanding musical editing, which set tunes to words which have since become inseparable from them. It would be unthinkable, for example, to sing ‘O God, our help in ages past’ to any tune other than ST ANNE, or ‘Abide with me’ to anything except EVENTIDE. The present edition follows in a musical tradition which has given to the Church some of its finest hymns, and every tune has been examined to ensure that it is worthy of its place and appropriate to the words to which it is set.

The committee has tried to select the best hymns, those which will last. In the process, it has consulted widely, trying to find out what has become acceptable and valuable to people in worship, and what is loved by them; in addition, it has received submissions from many advisers and potential contributors. It has been conscious of the English-speaking contribution to the spirituality of the Anglican communion, but also of the vigour and freshness which come from other countries. It has also been concerned to provide hymns that will be useful at specific points in a service. It has sought to aid the choice of such hymns by the provision of indexes, which should be used creatively; the suggestions should be taken as helpful pointers rather than as excluding other possibilities. There are many hymns written for a specific time of year, or associated with it, which could be used at other times or as general hymns.

Used imaginatively, therefore, this book should provide a valuable resource, to meet the challenge of the twenty-first century. In making its choice, the committee has been mindful of the practical needs of today’s worshipping church as well as the great tradition which the previous editions of this book have represented for almost a century and a half. Sunday by Sunday, in cathedrals, in towns and suburbs, in remote villages, and in churches all over the world, Hymns Ancient and Modern has given its people a much-loved and well-used selection of old and new hymns, set to music that has become so familiar as to be an integral part of the living tradition of the Church. To these are now added a wide selection from what we believe to be the best contemporary hymns.

These are hymns and songs that touch the human heart: and that this edition should continue to be of service to the Church, and to the individual believer, is the committee’s most earnest and deeply-felt prayer. It offers Common Praise in the hope that its use will enrich daily worship, bring closer the kingdom of God upon earth, and give glory to God in the highest.

Hymn Book Committee

Henry Chadwick (Chairman), Lionel Dakers,

Timothy Dudley-Smith, Gordon Knights,

Patricia Nappin, J. Richard Watson,

Allan Wicks, Robert Willis

THE WORDING OF HYMNS

The texts of hymns have often been altered to make them suitable for worship in a later age from the one in which they were written. Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley, for example, often used the word ‘bowels’ as an image for the mercy of Christ, and this would not be appropriate today. More recently, a word such as ‘gay’ has, regrettably, acquired a meaning which makes it unsuitable for singing in certain contexts.

More difficult is the question of returning to the author’s original text, when it has been superseded for many years. The 1904 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern, with a commendable care for authenticity, changed ‘Hark the herald angels sing’ to Charles Wesley’s original ‘Hark, how all the welkin rings’, but the change was widely ridiculed at the time.

However, care needs to be taken in alteration, and the compilers of Common Praise have been cautious in their practice. As a rule, they have not, for example, altered ‘thou’ to ‘you’, or made other changes to hymns written before 1900. These are traditional texts, which have been loved and used by worshippers in their original (or near original) form for generations.

Occasionally, however, it has seemed possible to alter hymns to remove non-inclusive language, as in ‘All for Jesus’, where the fourth verse reads:

All for Jesus, all for Jesus,

this the Church’s song must be;

till, at last, her sons are gathered

one in love and one in thee.

which becomes:

All for Jesus, all for Jesus;

this the Church’s song must be;

till, at last, we all are gathered

one in love and one in thee.

Another example would be Fred Pratt Green’s hymn, ‘When in man’s music, God is glorified’, which can become ‘When in our music, God is glorified’.

These and other alterations have been made, we think, with the need for change balanced against the claims of the original words. In addition, there is the need to respect the text as it had been known for generations. We hope, therefore, that in Common Praise, the words of the hymns will speak to the mind and heart with authenticity, and also with relevance to the needs of today.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT

The Publishers thank the owners or controllers of copyright for permission to use the hymns throughout this collection. An asterisk denotes that the text has been altered by permission.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright owners to seek permission to use or alter text. The Publishers apologise to those who have not been traced and whose rights have inadvertently not been acknowledged. Any omissions or inaccuracies of permission or copyright details will be corrected in future printings.

A list of copyright owners appears below, and some copyright addresses appear at the at the end of this section, on p. xvi. Further copyright details appear on-page for the equivalent hymn in the Full Music edition, or may be had from the Publishers.

COPYRIGHT HOLDERS’ ADDRESSES

G.B. Caird Fund, c/o Nicholas Blinco, Mansfield College, Oxford OX1 3TF

Church Pension Fund, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA

Continuum International Publishing Group Limited, The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NZ

J. Curwen & Sons Ltd, 14-15 Berners Street, London W1T 3LJ

Faber Music Ltd, 3 Queen’s Square, London WC1N 3AV

Gervase Farjeon, c/o David Higham Associates Ltd, 5-8 Lower John Street, Golden Square, London W1R 4HA

GIA Publications Inc., 7404 S. Mason Avenue, Chicago, IL 60638, USA

Hinshaw Music Inc., PO Box 470, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-0470, USA

Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188, USA

Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd, 13-17 Long Lane, London EC1A 9PN

Jubilate Hymns, Administered by the Jubilate Group, Southwick House, 4 Thorne Park Road, Chelston, Torquay TQ2 6RX (copyrightmanager@jubilate.co.uk)

Kingsway Music, 26-28 Lottbridge Drove, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT (office@kingsway.co.uk)

Kevin Mayhew Ltd, Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW

Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, Central Buildings, Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ (tmcp@tmcp.methodist.org.uk)

New Dawn Music, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, Oregon, OR 97213, USA

Novello and Co. Ltd, 14-15 Berners Street, London W1T 3LJ

OCP Publications, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, Oregon, OR 97213, USA

OMF International, 2 Cluny Road, Singapore

Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP

Oxford University Press Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314, USA

Song Solutions CopyCare Ltd, 14 Horsted Square, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 1QG, United Kingdom. (info@songsolutions.org)

SPCK, Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DU

Stainer & Bell Ltd, PO Box 110, 23 Gruneisen Road, London N3 1DZ (post@stainer.co.uk)

Stanbrook Abbey, Callow End, Worcester WR2 4TD

The United Reformed Church, 86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT

Joseph Weinberger Ltd, 12-14 Mortimer Street, London W1N 7RD

Wild Goose Resource Group (WGRG), 4th Floor, Savoy Centre, 140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH (admin@iona.org.uk)

MORNING

1

AWAKE, my soul, and with the sun

thy daily stage of duty run;

shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise

to pay thy morning sacrifice.

 2    Redeem thy mis-spent time that’s past,

and live this day as if thy last;

improve thy talent with due care;

for the great day thyself prepare.

 3    Let all thy converse be sincere,

thy conscience as the noon-day clear;

think how all-seeing God thy ways

and all thy secret thoughts surveys.

 4    Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,

and with the angels bear thy part,

who all night long unwearied sing,

high praise to the eternal King.

PART TWO

 5    GLORY to thee, who safe hast kept

and hast refreshed me whilst I slept;

grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,

I may of endless light partake.

 6    Lord, I my vows to thee renew;

disperse my sins as morning dew;

guard my first springs of thought and will,

and with thyself my spirit fill.

 7    Direct, control, suggest, this day,

all I design or do or say;

that all my powers, with all their might,

in thy sole glory may unite.

DOXOLOGY

To be sung after either part

 8    Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,

praise him, all creatures here below,

praise him above, angelic host,

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

THOMAS KEN * 1637–1711

2

CHRIST, whose glory fills the skies,

Christ, the true, the only light,

Sun of Righteousness, arise,

triumph o’er the shades of night;

Dayspring from on high, be near;

Daystar, in my heart appear.

 2    Dark and cheerless is the morn

unaccompanied by thee;

joyless is the day’s return,

till thy mercy’s beams I see,

till they inward light impart,

glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

 3    Visit then this soul of mine,

pierce the gloom of sin and grief;

fill me, radiancy divine,

scatter all my unbelief;

more and more thyself display,

shining to the perfect day.

CHARLES WESLEY 1707–1788

3

FATHER, we praise thee,

now the night is over;

active and watchful,

stand we all before thee;

singing we offer

prayer and meditation:

    thus we adore thee.

 2    Monarch of all things,

fit us for thy mansions;

banish our weakness,

health and wholeness sending;

bring us to heaven,

where thy saints united

        joy without ending.

 3    All-holy Father,

Son and equal Spirit,

Trinity blessèd,

send us thy salvation;

thine is the glory,

gleaming and resounding

        through all creation.

10th century, or earlier

tr. PERCY DEARMER 1867–1936

4

LORD, as the day begins

lift up our hearts in praise;

take from us all our sins,

guard us in all our ways:

our every step direct and guide

that Christ in all be glorified!

 2    Christ be in work and skill,

serving each other’s need;

Christ be in thought and will,

Christ be in word and deed:

our minds be set on things above

in joy and peace, in faith and love.

 3    Grant us the Spirit’s strength,

teach us to walk his way;

so bring us all at length

safe to the close of day:

from hour to hour sustain and bless,

and let our song be thankfulness.

 4    Now as the day begins

make it the best of days;

take from us all our sins,

guard us in all our ways:

our every step direct and guide

that Christ in all be glorified!

TIMOTHY DUDLEY-SMITH b. 1926

5

MY Father, for another night

of quiet sleep and rest,

for all the joy of morning light,

thy holy name be blest.

 2    Now with the new-born day I give

myself anew to thee,

that as thou willest I may live,

and what thou willest be.

 3    Whate’er I do, things great or small,

whate’er I speak or frame,

thy glory may I seek in all,

do all in Jesus’ name.

 4    My Father, for his sake, I pray,

thy child accept and bless;

and lead me by thy grace to-day

in paths of righteousness.

H. W. BAKER 1821–1877

6

NEW every morning is the love

our wakening and uprising prove;

through sleep and darkness safely brought,

restored to life and power and thought.

 2    New mercies, each returning day,

hover around us while we pray;

new perils past, new sins forgiven,

new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.

 3    If on our daily course our mind

be set to hallow all we find,

new treasures still, of countless price,

God will provide for sacrifice.

 4    The trivial round, the common task,

will furnish all we need to ask,

room to deny ourselves, a road

to bring us daily nearer God.

 5    Only, O Lord, in thy dear love

fit us for perfect rest above;

and help us, this and every day,

to live more nearly as we pray.

JOHN KEBLE * 1792–1866

7

O SPLENDOUR of God’s glory bright,

who bringest forth the light from Light;

O Light, of light the fountain-spring;