Methodist Hymn and Tune Book ‎#404

404. O happy band of pilgrims

1 O happy band of pilgrims,
If onward ye will tread,
With Jesus as your Leader,
To Jesus as your Head!

2 O happy, if he labour
As Jesus did for men;
O happy, if ye hunger
As Jesus hungered then!

3 The faith by which ye see Him,
The hope in which ye yearn,
The love that through all troubles
To Him alone will turn.

4 The trials that beset you,
The sorrows ye endure,
The manifold temptations
That death alone can cure,

5 What are they but His jewels,
Of right celestial worth?
What are they but the ladder
Set up to heaven on earth?

6 O happy band of pilgrims,
Look upward to the skies,
Where such a light affliction
Shall win you such a prize.

Text Information

• First Line: O happy band of pilgrims
• Author: From the Greek of St. Joseph the Hymnographer (c. 840)
• Translator: Dr. J. M. Neale, 1818-1866
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1917
• Topic: The Church and the Kingdom of God: Social Service; Pilgrims

Tune Information

• Name: KNECHT
• Composer: J. H. Knecht, 1752-1817
• Meter: 7.6.7.6
• Key: F Major or modal