I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

View this hymn using FlexPresent: Hymnary.org's free tool provides this hymn's music notationand lyrics synchronized with its audio

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto Me and rest"

Author: Horatius Bonar (1846)
Published in 1214 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Playable presentation: Lyrics only, lyrics + music
Audio files: MIDI, Recording

Song available on My.Hymnary

Representative Text

1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
and He has made me glad.

2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one;
stoop down, and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in Him.

3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s Light;
look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in Him my Star, my Sun;
and in that Light of life I’ll walk,
till trav'ling days are done.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #327

Author: Horatius Bonar

Horatius Bonar was born at Edinburgh, in 1808. His education was obtained at the High School, and the University of his native city. He was ordained to the ministry, in 1837, and since then has been pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto Me and rest"
Title: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Author: Horatius Bonar (1846)
Meter: 8.6.8.6 D
Place of Origin: Scotland
Language: English
Notes: Spanish translation: See "Oí la voz del Salvador" by Anonymous
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Despite his intimidating name and physical appearance, Horatius Bonar (1808-89) was a great lover of children and was concerned about how little the children understood of the metrical Psalms that were sung in the Scottish church of his day. "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" was one of the over 600 hymns he wrote to address the needs of the churches he served. Interestingly, John B. Dykes (composer of "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee") uses the somber key of G minor to present Jesus' invitation to our weary, thirsty and dark souls in the first half of each verse; in the second half of each verse when the invitation has been accepted and the soul satisfied, Dykes uses the happier key of G major. Take some time to read Jesus' invitations to you as recorded in the Gospels and reflect on your response to Him: Matthew 11:28; John 4:10, 13-14; John 8:12. --Greg Scheer, 1996
========================

I heard the voice of Jesus say. H. Bonar. [Christ's Invitation.] Written at Kelso, and published in his Hymns Original and Selected, 1846, and in the 1st series of his Hymns of Faith & Hope, 1857, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines, and headed, “The Voice from Galilee." It has come into extensive use, and is one of the most popular of the author's hymns. It is often used in Home Mission Services, and is suited thereto. It has been rendered into Latin by Dr. Macgill in his Songs of the Christian Creed and Life, 1876, as “Loquentem exaudivi."

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #551
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #2816
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #488
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 99 of 99)
Text

African American Heritage Hymnal #527

Page Scan

African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #249

Ambassador Hymnal #558

Text

Ancient and Modern #669

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #334a

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #334b

TextAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #551

Text

Breaking Bread (Vol. 39) #462

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #577

TextPage Scan

Christian Worship (1993) #338

TextPage Scan

Christian Worship #703

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #576

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #382

Text

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #540

Page Scan

Common Praise (1998) #508

Text

Common Praise #469

Community of Christ Sings #31

Text

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #310a

TextPage Scan

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #310b

Page Scan

Complete Mission Praise #275a

Complete Mission Praise #275b

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #500

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #332

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #611

Page Scan

Gather (3rd ed.) #724

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Gather Comprehensive #646

Page Scan

Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition #622

TextPage Scan

Glory and Praise (3rd. ed.) #646

Text InfoTextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Glory to God #182

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #343

Hymnal #493

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #247

Hymns and Psalms #136

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Faith #343

Text

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #540

Hymns of the Christian Life #313

Hymns of the Saints #134

Hymns Old and New #231

TextPage Scan

Hymns to the Living God #222

Text

Journeysongs (2nd ed.) #729

TextPage Scan

Journeysongs (3rd ed.) #692

Text

Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #597

TextPage Scan

Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #598

TextFlexScoreAudio

Lift Up Your Hearts #665

Text

Lutheran Service Book #699

TextPage Scan

Lutheran Worship #348

TextPage Scan

Moravian Book of Worship #606

TextPage Scan

One in Faith #327

TextPage Scan

One in Faith #777

One in Faith #784

Text

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism #548

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Oramos Cantando = We Pray In Song #593

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #271

Praise y Adoración #308a

TextPage Scan

Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #327

TextPage Scan

Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #328

Text InfoTune InfoTextScoreAudioPage Scan

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #488

TextPage Scan

RitualSong (2nd ed.) #821

TextPage Scan

RitualSong #768

Sacred Selections for the Church #631

TextFlexScorePage Scan

Santo, Santo, Santo #127

Tune InfoTextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #465

TextPage Scan

Sing Joyfully #332

Singing the Faith #248

Songs of Fellowship #215

Text

Songs of Zion #227

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #422

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #423

The Baptist Hymnal #487

The Book of Hymns (A fresh anthology of favourite hymns) #44

Text

The Book of Praise #671

The Christian Harmony #1

The Christian Life Hymnal #530

The Christian Life Hymnal #531

Page Scan

The Covenant Hymnal #325

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #2816

Text

The Hymnal 1982 #692

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #414

The Irish Presbyterian Hymbook #345a

TextPage Scan

The Irish Presbyterian Hymbook #345b

The Liturgical Harp #9

TextFlexScoreAudio

The New Century Hymnal #489

Text

The New English Hymnal #376

TextPage Scan

The New National Baptist Hymnal (21st Century Edition) #407

Text

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #332

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The Worshiping Church #506

Text

This Far By Faith #62

Text

Together in Song #585

Text

Total Praise #516

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #304

TextPage Scan

Trinity Psalter Hymnal #272

TextPage Scan

Voices Together #536

Text

Voices United #626

TextPage Scan

Worship (3rd ed.) #607

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Worship (4th ed.) #707

TextPage Scan

Worship and Service Hymnal #234

TextAudio

Worship in Song #124

TextPage Scan

Yes, Lord! #84

生命聖詩 - Hymns of Life, 1986 #324

Include 1115 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us