Himself

Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord

Author: Albert B. Simpson (c. 1891)
Tune: HIMSELF
Published in 31 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word.
Once His gift I wanted,
Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.

2 Once ’twas painful trying,
Now ’tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation,
Now the uttermost.
Once ’twas ceaseless holding,
Now He holds me fast;
Once ’twas constant drifting,
Now my anchor’s cast.

3 Once ’twas busy planning,
Now ’tis trustful pray’r;
Once ’twas anxious caring,
Now He has the care.
Once ’twas what I wanted,
Now what Jesus says;
Once ’twas constant asking,
Now ’tis ceaseless praise.

4 Once it was my working,
His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him,
Now He uses me.
Once the pow’r I wanted,
Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored,
Now for Him alone.

5 Once I hoped in Jesus,
Now I know He’s mine;
Once my lamps were dying,
Now they brightly shine.
Once for death I waited,
Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored,
Safe within the veil.

Source: Alexander's Hymns No. 3 #143

Author: Albert B. Simpson

Albert B. Simpson was the founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. Dianne Shapiro Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord
Title: Himself
Author: Albert B. Simpson (c. 1891)
Language: English
Refrain First Line: All in all forever
Publication Date: 1891
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #2420
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 3 of 3)

Hymns of the Christian Life #248

The Christian Life Hymnal #528

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #2420

Include 28 pre-1979 instances
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