This stone to Thee in faith we lay

Full Text

This stone to Thee in faith we lay,
We build the temple, Lord, to Thee;
Thine eye be open night and day,
To guard this house and sanctuary.

Here, when Thy people seek Thy face,
And dying sinners pray to live,
Hear, Thou in heaven Thy dwelling-place,
And when Thou hearest, O forgive!

Here, when Thy messengers proclaim
The blessed Gospel of Thy Son,
Still, by the power of His great Name,
Be mighty signs and wonders done.

Hosanna! to their heavenly king,
When children's voices raise that song;
Hosanna! let their angels sing,
And heaven with earth the strain prolong.

But will indeed Jehovah deign
Here to abide, no transient guest?
Here will the world's Redeemer reign,
And here the Holy Spirit rest?

That glory never hence depart!
Yet choose not, Lord, this house alone;
Thy kingdom come to every heart,
In every bosom fix Thy throne.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

Author: James Montgomery

Montgomery, James, son of John Montgomery, a Moravian minister, was born at Irvine, Ayrshire, Nov. 4, 1771. In 1776 he removed with his parents to the Moravian Settlement at Gracehill, near Ballymena, county of Antrim. Two years after he was sent to the Fulneck Seminary, Yorkshire. He left Fulneck in 1787, and entered a retail shop at Mirfield, near Wakefield. Soon tiring of that he entered upon a similar situation at Wath, near Rotherham, only to find it quite as unsuitable to his taste as the former. A journey to London, with the hope of finding a publisher for his youthful poems ended in failure; and in 1792 he was glad to leave Wath for Shefield to join Mr. Gales, an auctioneer, bookseller, and printer of the Sheffield Register newspap… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: This stone to Thee in faith we lay
Author: James Montgomery
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Language: English

Notes

This stone to Thee in faith we lay. J, Montgomery. [Laying Foundation-stone of a Church.] Written in 1822, for the laying of the Foundation-stone of Christ Church, Attercliffe, Sheffield, and sung at that ceremony on Oct. 30, 1822. It was printed in Montgomery's newspaper, the Sheffield Iris, Nov. 5, 1822, together with a full account of the whole ceremony. Subsequently it was published in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 474, his Poetical Works of various dates, and his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 300, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in extensive use in its full or in an abbreviated form, and also as:—
1. Here, in Thy Name, eternal God. This form is given in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, and others.
2. When in these courts we seek Thy face. In the American Sabbath Hymn Book , Andover, 1858, it begins with an altered form of stanza ii.
3. Within these walls let heavenly peace. In the American Church Praise Book, N. Y., 1882. Of this text in 3 stanzas, stanza i. is from J. Newton's "O Lord, our languid souls inspire," Olney Hymns, 1779, Bk. ii., No. 43, stanzas v., and stanzas ii. and iii. are from this hymn by Montgomery.
4. When here, 0 Lord, we seek Thy face. This form of the text, beginning with stanza ii., is in the Plymouth Collection, U.S.A., 1855.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

WAREHAM (Knapp)

William Knapp (b. Wareham, Dorsetshire, England, 1698; d. Poole, Dorsetshire, 1768) composed WAREHAM, so named for his birthplace. A glover by trade, Knapp served as the parish clerk at St. James's Church in Poole (1729-1768) and was organist in both Wareham and Poole. Known in his time as the "coun…

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Instances

Instances (72)TextImageAudioScore
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship #528Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (10th ed.) #528Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship. 16th ed. #528Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship. (3rd ed.) #528Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship. (45th ed.) #528Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) #528Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary #640Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the use of Universalist Societies and Families (13th ed.) #515Image
A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Use of Universalist Societies and Families 16ed. #515Image
A Selection of Hymns, adapted to the devotions of the closet, the family, and the social circle; and containing subjects appropriate to the monthly concerns of prayer for the success... #605Image
A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for ... Diocese of Nova Scotia. 3rd ed. #d322
A Selection of Psalms and Hymns: for every Sunday and principle festival throughout the year for the use of congregations in the Diocess of Quebec #64bImage
A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for Every Sunday ... Diocese of Quebec #d143
A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Use of the Diocese of Nova Scotia. 3rd ed. #d326
A Selection of Psalms, Hymns and Anthems, for every Sunday and principal festival throughout the year. for the use of congregations in the dioceses Quebec and Toronto. #H70
Book of Common Praise #d578
Church Harmonies: a collection of hymns and tunes for the use of Congregations #795Image
Church Hymnal #245Image
Church Psalmody: or, hymns for public worship, selected from Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns, and the Congregational Hymn Book #467Image
Free Methodist Hymnal #d613
General Baptist Hymn Book #d473
Gospel Melodies: a New Collection of Gospel Hymns and Songs #d174
Hymn-Book of the Evangelical Association #708Image
Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (2nd ed.) #472Image
Hymn book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (4th ed.) #472Image
Hymnal: according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America #275Text
Hymnal: according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America : Revised edition (1874) #275Image
Hymnal and Canticles of the Protestant Episcopal Church with Music (Gilbert & Goodrich) #275
Hymnal Companion to the Prayer Book: with accompanying tunes #269Image
Hymnal Companion to the Prayer Book with Accompanying Tunes (Second Edition) #269Image
Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #861Image
Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #861Image
Hymns and Songs of Praise for Public and Social Worship #1032Image
Hymns for Christian Devotion: especially adapted to the Universalist denomination #696Image
Hymns for Christian Devotion: especially adapted to the Universalist denomination. (New ed.) #696Image
Hymns for Public Worship in the Diocese of Fredericton. 2nd ed. #d203
Hymns for the Church of Christ (3rd thousand) #80Image
Hymns for the Church of Christ. (6th thousand) #80Image
Hymns for the Reformed Church in the United States #452Image
Hymns for the Use of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Impr. ed. #d490
Hymns for the Use of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. ed. #962Image
Hymns for the Worship of God: selected and arranged for the congregations connected with the Church of Scotland #170Image
Hymns for Use in Divine Worship ... Seventh-Day Adventists #d1126
Hymns of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, as authorized by the General Convention: with an additional selection #427Image
Methodist Hymn and Tune Book #d778
Methodist Hymn-Book #669Image
New Hymn and Tune book: an Offering of Praise for the Methodist Episcopal Church #159fImage
New Hymn and Tune Book: an Offering of Praise for the Use of the African M. E. Zion Church of America #159fImage
Offices of Worship and Hymns: with tunes, 3rd ed., revised and enlarged #306Image
Prayers and Hymns for the Church and Home #d698
Sacred Poems and Hymns #300Text
Spiritual Songs and Hymns, for Use in All Gospel Services #d589
The A. M. E. Zion Hymnal #d546
The American Hymn and Tune Book #d781
The Best of All ; The Harp of Glory: the Best Old Hymns, the Best New Hymns #d196
The Book of Common Praise #d597
The Christian Hymn Book #d624
The Christian Hymn Book. 7th ed. #d626
The Christian Psalmist: being a collection of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs compiled from the most approved authors, and designed as a standard hymn book for public and social worship #607Image
The Church Hymnal with Canticles #275Image
The Clifton Chapel Collection of "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs": for public, social and family worship and private devotions at the Sanitarium, Clifton Springs, N. Y. #1234Image
The Evangelical Hymn and Tune Book #d736
The Gospel Psalmist #727Image
The Halifax Selection of Hymns: intended as a Supplement to Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns #d410
The Heart and Voice: or, Songs of Praise for the Sanctuary: hymn and tune book, designed for congregational singing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for congregations generally #39cImage
The Hymn Book of the Free Methodist Church #789Image
The Hymnal of the Reformed Church in the United States #d649
The Liturgy and Hymns of the American Province of the Unitas Fratrum #842Image
The Liturgy and the Office of Worship and Hymns of the American Province of the Unitas Fratrum, or the Moravian Church #306Image
The Sacred Lute #d342
The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book: for use in divine worship #1134Image
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