Sabbath Hymn

"Without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5

I Need Thee Every Hour
by Annie S. Hawks (1835-1918)

I need thee ev'ry hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Ev'ry hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow'r
When Thou art nigh.

(Chorus)

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.

(Chorus)

I need The ev'ry hour,
Teach me Thy will;
Thy promises so rich
In me fulfill.

(Chorus)

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Ev'ry hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

Sabbath Song

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God..." --Revelation 22:1

Come Thou Fount
Robert Robinson, 1735-1790

Come Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise:

Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home:

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

A Sabbath Hymn

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." --Psalm 40:3

He Keeps Me Singing/Sweetest Name
Words & Music by Luther B. Bridgers

There's within my heart a melody;
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
"Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still,"
In all of life's ebb and flow.

(Chorus)
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest name I know,
Fills my ev'ry longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain,
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumb'ring chords again.

(Chorus)

Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting 'neath His shelt'ring wing,
Always looking on his smiling face,
That is why I shout and sing.

(Chorus)

Tho' sometimes He leads thro' waters deep,
Trials fall across the way;
Tho' sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See His footprints all the way.

(Chorus)

Soon He's coming back to welcome me
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds un-known,
I shall reign with him on high.

Sabbath Hymns

From the time I was little, singing from the baptist hymnal in Westwood's old sanctuary, to this past summer praising God with the nursing home patients at Cambridge Hills, I have always loved old hymns. I'll never forget one of the residents at Cambridge Hills named Daniel. When we would pass out the hymnals and start to turn to a certain hymn, the moment we named it Daniel could tell us the exact page it was on in the hymnal. He knew all the words by heart and was one of the loudest singers.

But it's not just Daniel who has an amazing mental collection of hymns--many of his generation have a staggering knowledge of old songs. And although most contemporary churches don't sing hymns anymore, Daniel and others like him have inspired me to increase my repetoire. :)



"Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship with a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle--true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: 'His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.' The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn 'His Eye is on the Sparrow,' was the outcome of that experience."

--Civilla Martin

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father." --Matthew 10:29



Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion; my constant friend is He.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness I lose my doubts and fears
Though by the path He leadeth, yet one step I may see.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise
When songs give way to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free.
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Words by Civilla D. Martin (1905)
Music by Charles H. Gabriel