Jericho; or the Waters Healed

Though Jericho pleasantly stood

Tune: CONTRAST (German)
Published in 4 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 Though Jericho pleasantly stood,
And looked like a promising soil;
The harvest produced little food,
To answer the husbandman's toil:
The water some property had,
Which poisonous proved to the ground;
The springs were corrupted and bad,
The streams spread a barrenness round.

2 But soon by the cruise and the salt,
Prepared by Elisha's command,
And plenty enriched the land:
An emblem sure this of grace
On fruitless dead sinners bestowed;
For man is in Jericho's case,
Till cured by the mercy of God.

3 How noble a creature he seems!
What knowledge, invention, and skill!
How large and extensive his schemes!
How much can he do if he will!
His zeal to be learned and wise,
Will yield to no limits or bars;
He measures the earth and the skies,
And numbers and marshals the stars.

4 Yet still he is barren of good;
In vain are his talents and art;
For sin has infected his blood,
And poisoned the streams of his heart:
The cockatrice eggs he can hatch,
Or, spider-like, cobwebs can weave;
'Tis madness to labor and watch
For what will destroy and deceive.

5 But grace,like the salt in the cruise,
When cast in the spring of the soul,
A wonderful change will produce,
Diffusing new life through the whole:
The wilderness blooms like a rose,
The heart which was vile and abhorred,
Now fruitful and beautiful grows,
The garden and joy of the Lord.

The Christian's duty, exhibited in a series of hymns, 1791

Text Information

First Line: Though Jericho pleasantly stood
Title: Jericho; or the Waters Healed
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

CONTRAST (German)

The tune most commonly known as CONTRAST is a German folk tune. In American shape-note tradition the tune is known as GREEN FIELDS or GREENFIELDS. J. S. Bach quoted it in his "Peasant Cantata," but he did not compose it. It has also been misattributed to Maria DeFleury and to Lewis Edson. Edson wrot…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #6698
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #6698

Include 3 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us