Thanks for being a Hymnary.org user. You are one of more than 10 million people from 200-plus countries around the world who have benefitted from the Hymnary website in 2024! If you feel moved to support our work today with a gift of any amount and a word of encouragement, we would be grateful.

You can donate online at our secure giving site.

Or, if you'd like to make a gift by check, please make it out to CCEL and mail it to:
Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 3201 Burton Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
And may the promise of Advent be yours this day and always.

Be Thou My Helper in the Strife

Representative Text

1 Be Thou my helper in the strife,
O Lord, my strong Defender be;
Thy mighty shield protect my life,
Thy spear confront the enemy.
Amid the conflict, O my Lord,
Thy precious promise let me hear,
The faithful, reassuring word:
I am thy Savior, do not fear.

2 Ashamed, confounded let them be
Who seek my ruin and disgrace;
O let Thy angel fight for me,
And drive my foes before his face.
Without a cause my life they sought,
Without a case their plots they laid;
Themselves within their snares be caught,
And be my crafty foes dismayed.

3 My soul is joyful in the Lord,
In His salvation I rejoice;
To Him my heart will praise accord
And bless His Name with thankful voice.
For who, O Lord, is like to Thee,
Defender of the poor and meek?
The needy Thy salvation see
When mighty foes their ruin seek.

4 Unrighteous witnesses have stood
And told of crimes beyond belief;
Returning evil for my good,
They overwhelm my soul with grief.
When in affliction they were sad,
I wept and made their grief my own;
But in my trouble they are glad
And strive that I may be o'erthrown.

5 O Lord, how long wilt Thou delay?
My soul for Thy salvation waits;
My thankfulness I will display
Amid the crowds that throng Thy gates.
Let not my enemies rejoice
And wrongfully exult o'er me;
They speak not peace, but lift their voice
To trouble those that peaceful be.

6 My foes with joy my woes survey,
But Thou, O Lord, hast seen it all;
O be no longer far away,
Nor silent when on Thee I call.
O haste to my deliverance now,
O Lord, my righteous cause maintain;
My Lord and God alone art Thou;
Awake, and make thy justice plain.

7 O Lord my God, I look to Thee,
Be Thou my righteous Judge, I pray;
Let not my foes exult o'er me
And laugh with joy at my dismay.
With shame and trouble those requite
Who would my righteous cause destroy;
But those who in the good delight,
Let them be glad and shout for joy.

8 Yea, let the Lord be magnified,
Because Thy servants Thou dost bless;
And I, from morn till eventide,
Will daily praise Thy righteousness.
My soul is joyful in the Lord,
In His salvation I rejoice;
To Him my heart will praise accord
And bless His Name with thankful voice.

Source: Psalter Hymnal (Red): doctrinal standards and liturgy of the Christian Reformed Church #67

Text Information

First Line: Be Thou my helper in the strife
Title: Be Thou My Helper in the Strife
Meter: 8.8.8.8 D
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

CATHERINE (Clark)


HE LEADETH ME (Bradbury)

After seeing Gilmore's text in the Boston Watchman and Reflector, William B. Bradbury (PHH 114) composed AUCHTON for those words. Bradbury arranged the text into a stanza/refrain structure, added the final line of the refrain, and published the hymn in his The Golden Censor in 1864. AUCHTON (also kn…

Go to tune page >


BROXBURN


Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #669
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #669

Include 4 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.