We Gather to Praise Thee

I wrote a new hymn this week. And, in the tradition of the greatest hymnographers, I didn't write my own music for it, but made use of someone else's tune instead (mostly because I can't write music). It's written to the tune of the classic hymn "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise," (an old Welsh melody, St. Denio), but it can be sung to most tunes that fit an 11.11.11.11 meter. (We sang it once in our church to the tune of "How Firm a Foundation," which worked out just as well as "Immortal, Invisible," and maybe a little better.) I also used classic hymnographic language (Thee, Thou, etc.), but with a little tweaking it can easily be modernized if so desired; most of the pronouns can be swapped out for the modern "You" without any trouble. Here's a short video clip of the hymn, featuring my modest singing talents, and the full text is printed below.

We Gather to Praise Thee

We gather to praise Thee, our great God above
And here we extol Thee, and offer our love.
We love Thee because Thou hast first lovèd us, 
Declaring together: in Thee will we trust!

In hard times and glad times we give Thee our praise,
For how Thy sweet grace renders light on our days.
Oh, grant that with courage and help from Thy hand,
We may, in temptation's hour, faithfully stand!

May faith be our shield and Thy Spirit our sword,
While taking our stand on Thy excellent Word.
We trust Thee to lead us against strife and sin,
Thy Kingdom shall conquer, and righteousness win!

We praise Thee, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
We laud Thy sweet mercy, and in Christ we boast:
We die to our sins in the death that He died,
And rise to new life, with our Lord glorified!

Lord, grant that Thy servants may follow Thy ways,
To thank Thee, adore Thee, and ceaselessly praise!
We long for the day when we see Thee above,
And join in the song of Thy infinite love! 

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If you enjoyed this one, then check out some of my other songs: "We Praise You, Wonderful God (Christmas Version)" and "Faith, Mighty Faith (Expanded Version)"