God Her Everlasting Light

Representative Text

1 Hear what God the Lord hath spoken;
O my people, faint and few,
Comfortless, afflicted, broken,
Fair abodes I build for you;
Scenes of heartfelt tribulation
Shall no more perplex your ways;
You shall name your walls "Salvation,"
And your gates shall all be "Praise."

2 There, like streams that feed the garden,
Pleasures without end shall flow;
For the Lord, your faith rewarding,
All his bounty shall bestow.
Still in undisturbed possession
Peace and righteousness shall reign;
Never shall you feel oppression,
Hear the voice of war again.

3 Ye, no more your suns descending,
Waning moon no more shall see,
But, your griefs for ever ending,
Find eternal noon in me.
God shall rise, and shining o'er you,
Change to day the gloom of night;
He, the Lord, shall be your Glory,
God, your everlasting Light.

Source: Laudes Domini: a selection of spiritual songs, ancient and modern for use in the prayer-meeting #193

Author: William Cowper

William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional st… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Hear what God the Lord hath spoken
Title: God Her Everlasting Light
Author: William Cowper
Meter: 8.7.8.7 D
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Hear what God the Lord hath spoke. W. Cowper. [The Church in Glory.] First published in the Olney Hymns, 1779, Book i., No. 65, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines, and headed, "The future peace and glory of the Church." It is in somewhat extensive use both in Great Britain and America.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907

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Hear what God the Lord hath spoken, p. 502, ii. In the manuscript volume described under Cowper, W., p. 1625, ii., this hymn, given at pp. 211-213, concludes a letter from J. Newton which is dated "Aug. 1773." See Notes and Queries, Sept. 24, 1904.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

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The Cyber Hymnal #2245

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