By precepts taught of ages past

By precepts taught of ages past

Author: John Mason Neale
Tune: SAXONY (Spangenberg)
Published in 5 hymnals

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Representative Text

1. By precepts taught of ages past,
Now let us keep again the fast,
Which, year by year, in order meet
Of forty days is made complete.

2. The law and seers that were of old
In divers ways this Lent foretold,
Which Christ Himself, the Lord and guide
Of every season, sanctified.

3. More sparing therefore let us make
The words we speak, the food we take,
Deny ourselves in mirth and sleep,
In stricter watch our senses keep.

4. In prayer together let us fall,
And cry for mercy, one and all;
And weep before the Judge, and say,
O turn from us Thy wrath away.

5. Thy grace have we offended sore
By sins, O God, which we deplore;
Pour down upon us from above
The riches of Thy pardoning love.

6. Remember, Lord, though frail we be,
That yet Thine handiwork are we:
Nor let the honor of Thy name
Be by another put to shame.

7. Forgive the ill that we have wrought,
Increase the good that we have sought;
That we at length, our wanderings o’er,
May please Thee now and evermore.

8. Blest Three in One, and One in Three,
Almighty God, we pray to Thee,
That Thou wouldst now vouchsafe to bless
Our fast with fruits of righteousness.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #712

Author: John Mason Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly tem­perament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

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First Line: By precepts taught of ages past
Author: John Mason Neale
Copyright: Public Domain

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The Cyber Hymnal #712
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The Cyber Hymnal #712

Include 4 pre-1979 instances
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