We plough the fields...
We plough the fields with horses
Or lately with machines,
And fertilize the acres
By artificial means.
But we are still reliant
On God's essential art,
The ever-changing weather
Which plays its vital part.
All good gifts around us
Are sent by Godly grace,
So thank the Lord, O thank the Lord,
Ye grateful human race!
His feats cannot be counted;
They span all space and time.
He holds the stars and planets
In harmony sublime.
He regulates the pattern
Of life's evolving tree
From microbes unto humans
Throughout the land and sea.
How shall we thank our Maker
For this great world we share?
Not by some ritual sacrifice
But by our humble prayer.
And as he has provided
Our farmers' copious yields,
So we must help the gleaners
Who roam the empty fields.
Alternative Christmas hymns
Re: Alternative Christmas hymns
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
O pardon us who stray!
Assist us through the daily grind
That we may consolation find,
And teach us how to pray,
And teach us how to pray!
We cherish thy resounding word
And hold the Bible dear,
But let us not be cheaply stirred
By loud evangelists, and spurred
To frenzied chants through fear,
To frenzied chants through fear.
'Twixt passion and lethargic drawl
There lies a golden mean;
Our outward gestures should be small,
For in a dimly lighted hall
True worship is serene,
True worship is serene.
Fierce creeds have clashed throughout the years
And millions have been slain;
Thy calls for peace have reached deaf ears,
So now the world is bathed in tears,
And conflicts rise again,
And conflicts rise again.
Those priests who speak of godly ire
And value not thy love
Are apt to set the world afire
And leave great regions dark and dire,
While angels weep above,
While angels weep above.
O grant the shepherds and the sheep
A humble mode of thought,
And urge them, when in prayer, to keep
A seemly calm, that they may reap
The treasures thou hast wrought,
The treasures thou hast wrought!
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
O pardon us who stray!
Assist us through the daily grind
That we may consolation find,
And teach us how to pray,
And teach us how to pray!
We cherish thy resounding word
And hold the Bible dear,
But let us not be cheaply stirred
By loud evangelists, and spurred
To frenzied chants through fear,
To frenzied chants through fear.
'Twixt passion and lethargic drawl
There lies a golden mean;
Our outward gestures should be small,
For in a dimly lighted hall
True worship is serene,
True worship is serene.
Fierce creeds have clashed throughout the years
And millions have been slain;
Thy calls for peace have reached deaf ears,
So now the world is bathed in tears,
And conflicts rise again,
And conflicts rise again.
Those priests who speak of godly ire
And value not thy love
Are apt to set the world afire
And leave great regions dark and dire,
While angels weep above,
While angels weep above.
O grant the shepherds and the sheep
A humble mode of thought,
And urge them, when in prayer, to keep
A seemly calm, that they may reap
The treasures thou hast wrought,
The treasures thou hast wrought!
Re: Alternative Christmas (and other) hymns
Morning has Broken
Morning has broken
Like the first morning,
We have awoken
Like the first apes.
Everything rises
Out of its slumber;
Birds of all sizes,
Beasts of all shapes.
In the beginning
God in his wisdom
Set the world spinning
As he deemed right;
By its rotation
Flora and fauna
Of his creation
Share the Sun's light.
Morning is holy!
Morning is joyful!
Though some move slowly
When they awake,
Nature's attraction
By its fresh beauty
Spurs them to action
For the Lord's sake!
Morning has broken
Like the first morning,
We have awoken
Like the first apes.
Everything rises
Out of its slumber;
Birds of all sizes,
Beasts of all shapes.
In the beginning
God in his wisdom
Set the world spinning
As he deemed right;
By its rotation
Flora and fauna
Of his creation
Share the Sun's light.
Morning is holy!
Morning is joyful!
Though some move slowly
When they awake,
Nature's attraction
By its fresh beauty
Spurs them to action
For the Lord's sake!
Re: Alternative Christmas (and other) hymns
Now Thank We All Our God
Now thank we all our God
With fervent choral beauty.
Let us with hymns discharge
Our laudatory duty.
For absent his support,
Our body, mind and soul
Would surely disappear
Down the infernal hole.
How mighty is his grace
That he should save us sinners
And fill the land and sea
With bounty for our dinners!
He makes our conscience strong
And hones our intellect,
So we may goodness choose
And evil now reject.
He likes to hear our praise,
Not for his own inflation
But rather as a sign
Of our undimmed elation.
Archangels flap their wings
At each resounding clause,
And seraphim respond
With dignified applause.
The Devil in his lair
Grows desperately jealous.
He beats his ugly tail;
His odium is zealous.
He did his best to tempt
Our fickle souls to sin,
But we disdained his lure
And trusted God to win.
Some seek to know God's mind,
And make obscure suggestions;
But we, his faithful flock,
Avoid such fruitless questions.
His reasons will remain
A thing of mystery,
But we are well content
His wondrous works to see.
So now we all await
Our final elevation
To that eternal realm
Of blissful recreation,
Where we may ululate
With tambourines and lutes,
While St Cecilia's band
Play their unworldly flutes.
Now thank we all our God
With fervent choral beauty.
Let us with hymns discharge
Our laudatory duty.
For absent his support,
Our body, mind and soul
Would surely disappear
Down the infernal hole.
How mighty is his grace
That he should save us sinners
And fill the land and sea
With bounty for our dinners!
He makes our conscience strong
And hones our intellect,
So we may goodness choose
And evil now reject.
He likes to hear our praise,
Not for his own inflation
But rather as a sign
Of our undimmed elation.
Archangels flap their wings
At each resounding clause,
And seraphim respond
With dignified applause.
The Devil in his lair
Grows desperately jealous.
He beats his ugly tail;
His odium is zealous.
He did his best to tempt
Our fickle souls to sin,
But we disdained his lure
And trusted God to win.
Some seek to know God's mind,
And make obscure suggestions;
But we, his faithful flock,
Avoid such fruitless questions.
His reasons will remain
A thing of mystery,
But we are well content
His wondrous works to see.
So now we all await
Our final elevation
To that eternal realm
Of blissful recreation,
Where we may ululate
With tambourines and lutes,
While St Cecilia's band
Play their unworldly flutes.
Re: Alternative Christmas (and other) hymns
Abide With Me
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide.
Night-time approaches; wilt thou be my guide?
Demons abound, and perils hard to see.
Lord, on life's gloomy course, abide with me.
Dusk heralds darkness; age portends the grave.
Lead me, my blind and anxious soul to save!
Steer me to morning, and to Heaven's quay;
Then, for eternity, abide with me.
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide.
Night-time approaches; wilt thou be my guide?
Demons abound, and perils hard to see.
Lord, on life's gloomy course, abide with me.
Dusk heralds darkness; age portends the grave.
Lead me, my blind and anxious soul to save!
Steer me to morning, and to Heaven's quay;
Then, for eternity, abide with me.
Re: Alternative Christmas hymns
As long as you’ve added ‘other’ . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QZN5CAvrIs.
I’ve been an atheist over sixty years and
have been moved by this about that long.
Adding . . .
I found this text online. All I can tell you about its origin is that
Dyer-Bennett says he learned it from his grandmother in the
mid-nineteen twenties. (Addendum the second: Dyer-Bennett was born in England, so presumably the grandmother was British of one stripe or another, or Irish.)
A MAY DAY CAROL
The moon shines bright, the stars give a light
A little before ‘tis day
Our Heavenly Father, he calleth to us
And bid us awake and pray
Awake, awake, oh pretty, pretty maid
Out of your drowsy dream
And step into your dairy below
And fetch me a bowl of cream
If not a bowl of thy sweet cream
A cup to bring me cheer
For the Lord knows when we shall meet again
To go Maying another year
I have been wandering all this night
And some time of this day
And now returning home again
I've brought you a branch of May
A branch of May I've brought you here
And at your door I stand
'Tis nothing but a sprout, but well budded out
By the work of our Lord's hand
My song is done and I must be gone
No longer can I stay
So it's God bless you all, both great and small
And send you a joyful May
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QZN5CAvrIs.
I’ve been an atheist over sixty years and
have been moved by this about that long.
Adding . . .
I found this text online. All I can tell you about its origin is that
Dyer-Bennett says he learned it from his grandmother in the
mid-nineteen twenties. (Addendum the second: Dyer-Bennett was born in England, so presumably the grandmother was British of one stripe or another, or Irish.)
A MAY DAY CAROL
The moon shines bright, the stars give a light
A little before ‘tis day
Our Heavenly Father, he calleth to us
And bid us awake and pray
Awake, awake, oh pretty, pretty maid
Out of your drowsy dream
And step into your dairy below
And fetch me a bowl of cream
If not a bowl of thy sweet cream
A cup to bring me cheer
For the Lord knows when we shall meet again
To go Maying another year
I have been wandering all this night
And some time of this day
And now returning home again
I've brought you a branch of May
A branch of May I've brought you here
And at your door I stand
'Tis nothing but a sprout, but well budded out
By the work of our Lord's hand
My song is done and I must be gone
No longer can I stay
So it's God bless you all, both great and small
And send you a joyful May
Re: Alternative Christmas (and other) hymns
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the Lord!
Arise, ye able seamen,
And boldly march aboard!
Ye captains and commanders,
Prepare your plans of war;
Let all be brave and steadfast
Amid the pools of gore.
Though stony is the highway
That leads us to success,
Our God sustains believers
Who strive for righteousness.
The wild dragoons of Satan
And conscript souls from Hell
Shall face our honest arrows
Like those of William Tell.
Beelzebub's great triremes
Will loom upon the main,
Then God will launch his galleons
As Philip did in Spain.
But unlike the Armada
Which sailed for Albion's coast,
Our fleet will be defended
By all the heavenly host.
Our troops will venture onward
With shining flags unfurled,
And sanctified elite squads
Will storm the underworld.
The crack marines' arrival
Upon the infernal shore
Will mark our coming triumph
When sin will be no more!
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the Lord!
Arise, ye able seamen,
And boldly march aboard!
Ye captains and commanders,
Prepare your plans of war;
Let all be brave and steadfast
Amid the pools of gore.
Though stony is the highway
That leads us to success,
Our God sustains believers
Who strive for righteousness.
The wild dragoons of Satan
And conscript souls from Hell
Shall face our honest arrows
Like those of William Tell.
Beelzebub's great triremes
Will loom upon the main,
Then God will launch his galleons
As Philip did in Spain.
But unlike the Armada
Which sailed for Albion's coast,
Our fleet will be defended
By all the heavenly host.
Our troops will venture onward
With shining flags unfurled,
And sanctified elite squads
Will storm the underworld.
The crack marines' arrival
Upon the infernal shore
Will mark our coming triumph
When sin will be no more!
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