Communion Hymns

based on the Odes of Solomon, a First Century Aramaic Christian Hymnal,
set in English hymn metres by Avva Andreas (Turner)

4. Thy Dwelling Place

a hymn for the season of dedication
in Long Metre
No man may change Thy dwelling place,
Nor is it for a man to change
That pre-existent fount of grace
Thou hast designed before this age.
Thy heart, O Lord, Thou givest us;
Thou shalt not leave Thy fruit to fail.
What can be lost placed in Thy trust?
Thy holiness shall e'er prevail.

Thou hadst no need of us, we know,
For it was we that needed Thee.
Let heaven's dew upon us flow;
That love thou givest sweet and free!

All life, O God, Thou hast foreknown:
Thus Thy word, Lord, is ne'er withdrawn.
That mercy that to us is shone
Shall last until all time is gone.
 

6. A River Great and Broad

a hymn for the season of epiphany
in 87.87.
From God's grace, the Holy Spirit
Making a river, great and broad,
Shatters all the bonds that fetter
Earnest souls that yearn for God.

Blessed are the ones that give it
To the souls they find in need.
Breath they breathe into those spirits
And the hungry hearts they feed.

Come ye thirsty, weary pilgrims
Who the desert paths have trod,
Wet your lips with living water
Flowing from the joy of God.
 

7 Thou Hast Brought Forth Joy

a hymn on God's image in us
in Common Metre
Lord, Thou hast brought forth joy in me
Making mine anger flee.
Thou hast put on my feeble flesh
That I might be like Thee.

Show them that meet me Thine own face
And end their grief and shame;
Show them in me Thy marvelous grace
That we may praise Thy Name!
 

8. O Let Our Hearts Be Opened

for the feastdays of the holy prophets
in 76.76.
O let our hearts be opened, exulting in the Lord.
O let our lips sing praises with hearts in one accord.
Let us rise up rejoicing, who sometime were brought low;
Brought forth from shameful silence, let us our gladness show.

His Prophets came to tell us of His great coming day
When ignorance and hatred shall both be put away,
When ev'ry breathing being shall with their breath proclaim
To Him that is within them, Most Holy is thy Name!
 

9. Receive His Word

a hymn of salvation
in Common Metre
Open your ears and I will speak;
Open your heart to mine!
All ye that His salvation seek,
Receive His Word divine.

Your life is in His holy will;
Salvation is His mind.
Come to His presence and be still;
Perfection ye shall find.

Grace I announce and perfect peace
To those who bear no blame.
Victory calls and strife shall cease
For those who take his Name.
 

12. Fill Us With Thy Word of Truth

a hymn of holy wisdom
in Long Metre
God fill us with Thy Word of truth,
Make all our speech from Thee to flow;
Bring forth in us Thy holy fruit
And let it like an orchard grow.

God with Thy knowledge fill us up,
With that true Word Thou speakest still.
Thy gates of wisdom open up,
Reveal in us Thy deathless will.

From deep beyond Creation's start,
His Word breaks forth in boundless light
Binding the world in every part
In unity and truth and right.

The dwellingplace of truth is there
Where love abounds with sweet concord;
Blessed are they that in them bear
The knowledge of their Holy Lord.
 

13. The Face of God

on the image of Christ in our neighbor
in Common Metre
The face of God we see each day
Where none would think to see,
In country lane and city street
Where ever we shall be.

In ev'ry living, hopeful face,
In faces worn with care,
In any woman, child or man-
Our Savior's face is there.

Put off the mask of sin and shame,
Put off the mask of care,
Look at yourself through God's own eye-
Our Savior's face is there.
 

14. O God of All Delight

on taking refuge in God
in Common Metre
See how mine eyes are turned to Thee,
O God of all delight;
Take not Thy kindness e'er from me,
But keep me in Thy light!

Let me be gracious in Thy sight,
And worthy of Thy Name;
May love and peace with me abide,
Keep me from sin and blame!

Give to me from Thy bounteous grace,
Hasten to hear my cry;
Let me at last unto Thy face
From all my sorrows fly.
 

16. All My Work

on the praise of God
in 87.87.D
The farmer's work is at the plow,
The steersman's at the rudder.
God's praise is all my work I vow,
His Spirit I will utter.
His is my heart and all my mind
With love He has redeemed them.
My spirit sings of all His works
For love of Him that made them.
 

17. Incorruptible Salvation

a hymn of freedom in the Spirit
in 10's
The Living Spirit of the Lord hath crowned me;
The choking bonds were cut off by Her hands
And incorruptible salvation saved me
From vanity and I am not condemned.
An incorruptible salvation saved me
From vanity and I am not condemned.

The thought of truth renewed and now doth lead me
And those that see me have been all amazed,
For the Most High hath by His kindness raised me;
To heights of truth He hath my spirit raised.
For the Most High hath by His kindness raised me;
To heights of truth He hath my spirit raised.

An iron bar upon the door of truth
Was I before the coming of His heat.
My iron melted and dissolved within me.
Becoming Christ was all that I could do.
And I became a door and nothing closed me;
And I unbound all that I could undo.

Glory to Jesus, who our hearts hath lifted;
Glory to Him, who hath our sorrows born.
For knowledge unto us He hath gifted
That we are one with Him and with the Lord.
For knowledge unto us He hath gifted
That we are one with Him and with the Lord.
 

18. The Light of Truth's Own Face

a prayer for perseverance in the way of salvation
in 87.87
God hath raised my feeble nature
And hath healed it by His grace.
Sickness fled, and with it sadness,
From the light of Truth's own face.

Lord, behold this generation!
Filled with falsehood, sick with sin.
Let Thy mercy not desert us
Who Thy word abide within.

In Thy will is all perfection,
Life and knowledge are Thy breath.
Keep us, Lord, from all transgression
With Thy Son, who conquers death.
 

20. Thy Priest, O Lord

for the holy priesthood
in Long Metre
Thy priest, O Lord my God, am I.
I offer to Thy holiness
All that I am and all that I
Hope to become through righteousness.

Receive, O God, this day my heart;
Take it and grant it purity.
I from Thy way shall ne'er depart
But dwell in Thy security.
 

21. He Set Me Free

a testimony of salvation
in Common Metre
The Lord from bondage lifted me
And clothed me with His light;
From sin's dark night He set me free
And made my visage bright.

From leprosy He cleansed my soul
And banished fear and pain;
And with His saints I'll live for aye
When He shall come again.
 

22. He That Came

a theological hymn on the rescue of Adam from Sheol
in 87.87.
He that came from highest heaven
Came up also from below;
He that destined death for Adam
Doth new life to him bestow.

He that is without corruption
Unto us corruption drew
That He might, by our destruction,
In His image us renew.
 

23. In the Love the Christian Knows

on the peace beyond understanding
in 87.87.
There are joys the mind can't fathom,
In the love the Christian knows;
None shall have them but that had them
From the faith that God bestows.

Seek perfection, walk in knowledge
For in you God's glory grows.
All who seek to gain that knowledge
Must believe in Him that rose.

Unto Him be all dominion,
Mystery in Whom is found;
He that ruined wise opinion
Did the whole vain world confound.
 

26.The Harp of Praise

on holy wonder
in 87.87.D
Pour out your praises to the Lord
Praise Him with a holy song;
Take to your breast the harp of praise,
For to Him do both belong.
Let praises ring from east and west,
Eternal be their telling!
Above, below and north and south,
The whole earth is His dwelling.

O who can write these mysteries?
And who can know to read them?
And who can train his soul for life,
Fight powers and defeat them?
To comprehend them is to lose
The self that is reflection
Of all that enigmatic grace
Of death and resurrection.

For us it shall suffice to know
That in us is His dwelling;
That in us is that Mystery
That never shall have telling.
And when the moment comes for grace
From our heart grace goes springing,
And inside that most sacred place
Within us, Christ is singing.
 

29. The Lord's My Hope

a song of mercy and beauty
in 87.87.D
The Lord's my hope and all my trust
And for His praise He made me,
And in His mercy raised me up,
And by His Beauty saved me.
And from the depths He brought me up
And from sin's death He drew me.
He gave to me salvation's cup
When He brought Jesus to me.

He set on me His holy sign
And filled me with His power
To cast the darkness from my heart,
To make its wastelands flower,
To overthrow the enemy,
To make the satan cower.
All praise to God for Christ, His Word,
And for His Spirit's power.
 

30. Come Ye Thirsty

living water that quenches thirst forever
in 87.87
Come ye thirsty, weary pilgrims
To the fountain of the Lord!
Fair it is and rest and mercy
To the soul it doth afford.

Sweeter than the sweetest honey
Cometh it from source unseen;
Springing up to life within us,
Loving, kindly and serene.
 

31. Darkness Fled

"...Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."
87.87.D
The void dissolved before Thy face
And darkness fled before Thee
When Thou revealed to us Thy grace
And called and named us to Thee.
With words of grace and songs of joy
Thou drawest us unto Thee,
And off'rest at Thy Father's throne
A people ransomed through Thee.

A generation gave Thee up,
O Thou, the spotless victim;
And in their wrath they crucified
The One who came to free them.
Their gall Thou bearest for their sake,
To keep the promise made them;
To bring Messiah through their seed
And through Messiah save them.
 

33. Messiah's Grace

Christ calls us to Him
in 87.87.
Let us upon whom Grace hath come
Forsake the world's corruption!
That Grace hath on Messiah come
To bring our woe's destruction.

And He hath slain both sin and grave
For all who will obey Him
Who standeth ready, quick to save,
All them He calleth to Him.

O Adam's sons and daughters, come!
Forsake your old transgression!
Draw near to Me, and I will come
In mercy and compassion.

Hear Me for your salvation's sake,
And take My flesh into you
And I, your judge, shall pity take
And give My life unto you.
 

34. Simple Hearts

a hymn to the divine Beauty
in Common Metre
No way is hard for simple hearts,
Nor hurt for thoughts upright.
No storm in contemplation starts
Where Beauty sheds His light.

Where Beauty sheds transcendent light
The seeming of all below
Is seen as the shadow of heaven bright.
This Beauty we shall know.

Glory to Him that gives such grace,
Glory to Him that came.
Our glory, when we see His face,
Is that we shall be the same.
 

38. A Vine Forever

a hymn of praise
in Common Metre
A vine forever Thou didst plant
And deeply set its root.
Thou raisest it by Thine own hand
And bringest it to fruit.

Be thou forever glorified
In all Thy creatures, Lord,
For all Thy blessing and Thy care
And Thy redeeming Word.
 

41. All Ye, His Children

praise for the revelation of Messiah
in 87.87.D
Praise the Lord, all ye, His children
And receive in truth His faith.
For He knows ye, all His children,
By your songs of love and grace.
The great day hath shined upon us,
He hath shown to us His face.
He hath shown us His Messiah
And redeemed us with His grace.

He hath called us as His people
And from bondage set us free.
Through the Aeons He remembered,
He who kept and still keeps me.
And His Word is with us always,
He who saved us on the Tree;
He whose Glory pre-existed
And shall always ever be.
 

42. The Bridal Feast

a hymn to Christ's victory
87.87.
The bridal feast is spread for us
Who come in faith to eat it.
The bridegroom's arms are spread for us
And by Him we'll be seated,

By Him Sheol was made disrupt
And Death completely vanquished.
From sin and shame He did us raise,
Who in their thrall had languished.

O Son of God, deliver us
According to Thy kindness,
And bring us out from hell with Thee
From chains and dark and blindness!

Lord, place Thy faith within our hearts,
And evil from us sever;
And place Thy Name upon our heads,
And keep us with Thee ever!

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