Father, Thy name our souls would bless
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- Father, Thy name our souls would bless,
As children taught by grace,
Lift up our hearts in righteousness,
And joy before Thy face. - Sweet is the confidence Thou giv'st,
Though high above our praise;
Our hearts resort to where Thou liv'st
In heaven's unclouded rays. - Eternal ages shall declare
The riches of Thy grace,
To those who with Thy Son shall share
A son's eternal place. - Absent as yet, we rest in hope,
Treading the desert path,
Waiting for Him who takes us up
Beyond the pow'r of death. - We joy in Thee, Thy fulness shall
Our endless portion be,
Like Thine own Son, with whom we'll dwell
In bright eternity. - O Holy Father, keep us here
In that blest name of love,
Walking before Thee without fear,
Thy perfect will to prove.
Apr. 7, 2008Hymnal.NetI love hymn #44 in the Chinese hymnbook. The first stanza says that we bless the name of our Father as children taught by grace and we rejoice that because of His life we were brought back to the flock. This is exactly what John 10 says. Once His life comes into us, it causes us to return to the flock. We were formerly lost sheep; it was by His life coming into us that we became sheep belonging to the flock and being shepherded under the hand of the good Shepherd.
Source: The Basis for the Building Work of God, chapter 2. (LSM)
Mar. 25, 2008Hymnal.NetJ. N. Darby, one of the Brethren, wrote #47 in Hymns. It is difficult to find a similar hymn of such quality. The first two stanzas say, "Father, Thy name our souls would bless, / As children taught by grace, / Lift up our hearts in righteousness, / And joy before Thy face. / Sweet is the confidence Thou giv'st, / Though high above our praise; / Our hearts resort to where Thou liv'st / In heaven's unclouded rays." The truth in this hymn is truly high, deep, and penetrating. We must note here that when Brother Watchman Nee translated this hymn into Chinese, he improved upon the original English. Although the hymn was already very good, it was not so clear in its meaning. After passing through Brother Nee's translation, it is clearer.
Source: Three Aspects of the Church: the Course of the Church (Book 2), chapter 14. (LSM)
