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About Numbered Notation

All steps
  1. The numbers are the notes of a scale
  2. “1=C” tells you where to start
  3. Dots make a note higher or lower
  4. How long each note lasts
  5. 0 means rest
  6. Bar lines and the time signature
  7. Curves: ties and slurs
  8. The words sit under the numbers
  9. Repeat signs and 1. 2. endings
  10. Minor keys: “6=A”
  11. Put it together: a line of a hymn
  12. Check yourself
  13. Try it on a hymn

The numbers are the notes of a scale

Numbered notation (jianpu, 简谱) writes a melody as numbers instead of notes on a staff. You do not need to read music: take one small step at a time and press Play on any example to hear it while each number lights up. Sound only starts when you press Play.

Instead of notes on a staff, each note is a number from 1 to 7. They are the seven steps of the scale you already know: do re mi fa sol la ti. After 7 the scale starts again at 1.

The seven numbers with their names. Press Play and say each name as its number lights up.
Sing along: do re mi fa sol, and back down to do.

If you can sing do re mi, you can already sing every number from 1 to 7. Tap or click any number to hear just that note.

“1=C” tells you where to start

At the top left of the sheet you will see something like 1=C. It means the number 1 (do) is the note C, and every other number counts up from there. 1=G means do is G, so the whole tune sits a little higher. Nothing else changes: the same numbers make the same shape, only higher or lower.

1=C: do is C.
1=G: the same numbers, starting higher.

Not sure where C is? On a piano it is the white key just left of the two black keys. Or ignore the letter and start on any note that is comfortable for your voice: the tune only has to keep its shape. The − and + key buttons on a hymn page shift the key for you.

Dots make a note higher or lower

A dot above a number means one octave higher. A dot below means one octave lower. Two dots mean two octaves. No dot is the middle range, where most of a tune lives. The name stays the same; only the height changes.

The same number at three heights: dot below, no dot, dot above.
A tune that climbs: it starts on a low sol and ends on a high do.

How long each note lasts

Tap your foot at a steady pace: each tap is a beat. A plain number lasts one beat, so you sing a new number on every tap. Dashes, lines and dots change that.

A plain number is one beat

Four numbers, four beats: one number for each tap.

A dash holds the note longer

Each dash adds one beat. The 5 lasts two beats and the 3 lasts four.

A line underneath makes it shorter

One line is half a beat, so two underlined numbers share one beat. (Two lines are a quarter of a beat.)

A dot after makes it half as long again

A dot after a number adds half its length. The first 5 lasts a beat and a half, and the short 3 fills the rest of the second beat.

0 means rest

A 0 is silence for one beat. Keep counting and keep tapping, but do not sing. Dashes after a 0 make the silence longer, just as they hold a note longer.

Sing 1 3 5, stay quiet for one beat, then come back down. Rests light up too, so you can feel the pause.

Bar lines and the time signature

Tall lines cut the music into bars, each holding the same number of beats. The two small numbers at the start, like 4/4 or 3/4, say how many: 4/4 is four beats in every bar, 3/4 is three. The first beat of each bar is the strongest, so lean on it a little. A double line with a thick edge marks the end.

4/4: count 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4. The first beat of each bar sounds a little louder.
3/4: count 1 2 3, 1 2 3, the lilt of a waltz.

Curves: ties and slurs

A curve over numbers joins them. If it joins two of the same number, it is a tie: sing the note once and hold it for both. If it joins different numbers, it is a slur: sing them all on one syllable, gliding from one to the next.

A tie: the 5 is sung once and held across the bar line, six beats in all.
A slur: “Him” is sung on two notes, 3 then 2.

The words sit under the numbers

Each number gets one syllable, written right underneath it. A short dash after part of a word means the word carries on under the next number. If a number has nothing under it, it belongs to a curve or a dash: keep singing the syllable you are on.

Read left to right, one syllable for each number: Twin-kle, twin-kle, lit-tle star.

Repeat signs and 1. 2. endings

A bar line with two dots, :|, means go back and sing that part again, from the matching |: sign (or from the start if there is none). Sometimes the repeat has two endings. Sing ending 1. the first time; on the repeat, skip it and sing ending 2. instead.

Play it: you hear the 1. ending, the repeat, then the 2. ending. Watch the highlight jump back.

Minor keys: “6=A”

A song in a minor key, which usually sounds more serious or tender, is labeled like 6=A instead of 1=C. It means the number 6 (la) is the home note, here A. The numbers keep their usual names; the tune simply feels at home on 6 and often ends there. 6=A uses the same notes as 1=C.

It starts and ends on 6 (la), the home note. Listen to the darker colour.

Put it together: a line of a hymn

This is the first line of hymn 8, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow”, written in numbered notation. Try the slow tempo first, and sing the words as each number lights up.

1=G in 4/4. Three silent beats, then “Praise” on beat 4. The dots under 7, 6 and 5 mean those notes dip one octave lower.

Check yourself

Four quick questions, with no score and no pressure. Tap an answer to see right away why it is right or wrong. You can always try another answer.

Tap the number that is held the longest.

Tap the 5 that is one octave higher than the first 5.

What does a 0 mean?

Under 1=G, which note is the number 1?

Try it on a hymn

You opened this from a hymn that has a Numbered view, so you can try it right now.

  1. Look at the top left of the sheet: the key, such as 1=D, and the time signature, such as 3/4.
  2. Find the first number and sing it. Then follow the numbers from left to right with the words underneath, one syllable for each number. Press Play in the player to hear the recording while you follow.
  3. Letters above the numbers (C, G7) are chords for a guitarist or pianist. Ignore them while you learn the tune.
  4. To be guided, open the Learn tab and press Play. Under Display, set Learn notation to Numbered (or choose Numbered on the Lead Sheet tab first). For hymns that have numbered lines, each line of numbers scrolls into view in time with the recording while a bouncing ball follows the words; other hymns show the piano notation there. The Tempo menu slows it down without changing the pitch.

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Lord, Thou didst know when in the flesh

Experience of Christ In the Spirit

English491
1
Lord, Thou didst know when in the flesh,
As such I’d know Thee shallowly;
Then as the Spirit Thou didst come
Within my spirit, known to be.
2
In flesh Redeemer mine Thou art;
As Spirit now my Comforter.
The outward touch has passed away
For inward union worthier.
3
Because Thou art the Spirit now,
Thyself revealing ceaselessly,
Within my spirit I may know
Thy presence and reality.
4
I know Thy life surpassing far
The knowledge Thy disciples had,
Although they walked and lived with Thee,
When Thou on earth in flesh wast clad.
5
Because Thy Spirit dwells within,
How real, O Lord, Thou art to me;
Not touched, yet more reliable,
Not seen, yet loved more fervently.
6
Thy Holy Spirit deep within
Supplies Thyself as righteousness,
As holiness, redemption full,
As wisdom and as fruitfulness.
7
Thy Spirit in my spirit now
Supplies Thyself, unites with me,
Thus I am all the time myself
And constantly am also Thee.

Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

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Un Hermano

Dec 3, 2025

THE INCARNATED GOD

Regarding the tabernacle, John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. ” According to John 1:1 , the Word that became flesh is God Himself. Hence, we have God, the Word, and the tabernacle. This tabernacle was Jesus, and Jesus is the very God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word... and the Word was God. ” The Word became flesh, and this flesh is the tabernacle. By this we see that the tabernacle is actually the incarnated God. In other words, Jesus is the incarnated God.

The incarnated God is available to be contacted by us. Not only can we contact Him; we can also enter into Him. This means that we can have a tour of the tabernacle and enjoy its contents.

As we consider the tabernacle in Exodus, we need to be impressed that it signifies the incarnated God. God is invisible, abstract, mysterious. However, as the tabernacle, the incarnated God, this invisible, abstract, and mysterious One, becomes real, practical, and concrete. He becomes touchable and, in a very real sense, visible. For this reason, 1 John 1:1 says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld, and our hands handled concerning the Word of life. ” Here we see that the Apostle John touched the incarnated God. We may even go on to say that the incarnated God is enterable. Therefore, now He is not only visible and touchable—He is also enterable.

Life-study of Exodus

Message 149 (LSM)

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William Jeng

Irvine, CA, United States

Nov 1, 2025

“Not touched, yet more reliable,

Not seen, yet loved more fervently. ”

As Christians, we live a life where we love the One we don’t see. “Whom having not seen, you love…” When Eliezer (typifying the spirit) was bringing Rebecca to Isaac, she was riding on top of the camel, up and down night and day, life of a Christian. That’s our walk in the church life. There’s ups and downs like on a camel back. But the goal is to arrive there to marry your husband.

We love the one we cannot see. But one day we are going to see him. And we are going to recognize him. When Rebecca was far away, immediately she recognized him, her husband to be. How can this be? It’s her faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Love comes from faith, and faith operates through love. (1 Peter 1:7-9)

How do you love somebody who he never seen? FAITH! Lord, increase my faith. The source of our love is faith. When we have faith, we have a deep appreciation of the Lord… then there’s love. We need to develop this in our normal Christian life. This is how the Lord will gain His glory!

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Paul

London, United Kingdom

May 8, 2025

I found this hymn just this morning. What a declaration:

I know thy life surpassing far
The knowledge thy disciples had.
The indwelling Christ is all-inclusive and all-sufficient

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Carson Maher

Lubbock, TX, United States

Dec 17, 2022

This song is a blessing to me!

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Christopher Burk

Seattle, Washington, United States

Aug 21, 2022

Thank you Lord that the Holy Spirit supplies thyself as righteousness, holiness, redemption full, wisdom, and as fruitfulness.

Amen!

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P.B.

Tucker, GA, United States

May 9, 2022

In flesh Redeemer mine Thou art;
As Spirit now my Comforter.
The outward touch has passed away
For inward union worthier.
Every line of this hymn is worth musing over

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Brian Adamo

San Diego, CA, United States

Jul 21, 2020

What a deep, profound, yet experiential hymn this is. Written by brother Watchman Nee who saw that Christ today is the all-inclusive Spirit for us to touch, know and live out moment by moment.

This is so releasing to me because rather than trying to live the life that God wants me to live, I could actually live God Himself because He today is the Spirit. I love Mark 16:12 where Jesus appeared in His resurrection to the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. There it says that He appeared to them in a different form. Of course that form was just the life-giving Spirit. So today I don’t need to try figure out what God wants me to do. I simply could live Him in my spirit because He Himself is this wonderful Spirit!

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Brian

Jul 15, 2020

Love this last verse.

Your Spirit in my spirit now supplies Yourself, unites with me, thus I am all the time myself and constantly am also You.

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Rebecca

Salem, Oregon, United States

Jul 19, 2019

I hope that so many, including myself, would know the deep reality and experience of this hymn in a daily, moment by moment way. I hope this hymn would be sung more frequently, so that its deep message in simple words might penetrate our heart and living and our honor of our God in His economy might thrill us every day, every day blessing Him who blesses us with Himself in such a mysterious and wonderful way.

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