The Cyber Hymnal ‎#12411

12411. Hymn For the Twenty-Second Of December

1 When o’er the billow-heaving deep,
The fathers of our race,
The precepts of their God to keep,
Sought here their resting-place—
That gracious God their path prepared,
Preserved from every harm,
And still for their protection bared
His everlasting arm.

2 His breath, inspiring every gale,
Impels them o’er the main;
His guardian angels spread the sail,
And tempests howl in vain.
For them old ocean’s rocks are smoothed;
December’s face grows mild;
To vernal airs her blasts are soothed,
And all their rage beguiled.

3 When Famine rolls her haggard eyes,
His ever-bounteous hand
Abundance from the sea supplies,
And treasures from the sand.
Nor yet His tender mercies cease;
His overruling plan
Inclines to gentleness and peace
The heart of savage man.

4 And can our stony bosoms be
To all these wonders blind?
Nor swell with thankfulness to Thee,
O Parent of mankind?
All-gracious God, inflame our zeal;
Dispense one blessing more;
Grant us Thy boundless love to feel,
Thy goodness to adore.

Text Information

• First Line: When o’er the billow-heaving deep
• Title: Hymn For the Twenty-Second Of December
• Author: John Q. Adams, 1767-1848
• Meter: CMD
• Language: English
• Source: Poems of Religion and Society by John Quincy Adams, by John Davis & T. H. Benton (New York: William H. Graham, 1848)
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: In 1620, Eng­lish peo­ple called Pil­grims went to Amer­i­ca, seek­ing re­li­gious free­dom. They re­port­ed­ly ar­rived at Plymouth, Mas­sa­chu­setts, on the ship May­flow­er, De­cem­ber 22, 1620. Alternate tunes: A LITTLE KINGDOM by Alonzo P. Howard, INDIA BASIN by Scott Werdebuagh, VOX DILECTI by John B. Dykes

Tune Information

• Name: KINGSFOLD
• Arranger: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1906)
• Meter: CMD
• Key: e minor or modal
• Source: English tune
• Copyright: Public Domain