Here’s another hymn that should be familiar to anyone (any American, at least) raised right. Cyberhymnal lists no less than seven tunes (and nineteen verses!) for this one. The one you will likely recognize, Azmon, composed in 1828, is certainly not the first used for this 1739 Charles Wesley hymn. Not surprisingly, the Concordia tune, Chesterfield, is nowhere to be found in association with this particular hymn. Oddly, while I remember singing this hymn in church, it was always to Azmon. Also odd is the fact that where I do find the Concordia tune, it’s not called Chesterfield, but Richmond. Curious, eh?*
The hymn is O for a thousand Tongues to Sing. It is well worth noting that, like the previous hymns, the subject of each verse is God and his glorious attributes. As you take note of that, contrast it with the many “worship” songs today in which God is the object and the singer is the subject.
10 O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My dear Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad,
The honors of Thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears;
’Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the pow’r of reigning sin,
He sets the pris’ner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His blood availed for me.
He speaks, and, list’ning to His voice,
New life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice;
The humble poor believe.
—The Concordia Hymnal (Augsburg Publishing House), 1960.
Azmon
Chesterfield (Richmond?)
* Like anyone reading this cares . . .
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