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Chief of Sinners Though I Be

Representative Text

1 Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed his blood for me,
died that I might live on high,
lives that I might never die.
As the branch is to the vine,
I am his and he is mine!

2 Oh, the height of Jesus' love,
higher than the heav'ns above,
deeper than the depths of sea,
lasting as eternity,
love that found me— wondrous thought—
found me when I sought him not.

3 Only Jesus can impart
comfort to a wounded heart,
peace that flows from sin forgiv'n,
joy that lifts the soul to heav'n,
faith and hope to walk with God
in the way that Enoch trod.

4 Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me;
all my wants to him are known,
all my sorrows are his own.
Safe with him in earthly strife,
I await the heav'nly life.

5 Strengthen me, O gracious Lord,
by your Spirit and your Word.
When my wayward heart would stray,
keep me in the narrow way;
grace in time of need supply
while I live and when I die.

Source: Christian Worship: Hymnal #578

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Author: William McComb

McComb, William, author of "Chief of sinners though I be" (Christ All and All), was born in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Ireland, in 1793, and was for several years a bookseller in Belfast. He published The Dirge of O'Neill, 1816; The School of the Sabbath, 1822; and The Voice of a Year, 1848. These together with smaller pieces were collected and pub. as The Poetical Works of William M'Comb, 1864. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)  Go to person page >

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Text Information

First Line: Chief of sinners though I be
Title: Chief of Sinners Though I Be
Author: William McComb
Meter: 7.7.7.7
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
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Tune

REDHEAD NO. 76

REDHEAD 76 is named for its composer, who published it as number 76 in his influential Church Hymn Tunes, Ancient and Modern (1853) as a setting for the hymn text "Rock of Ages." It has been associated with Psalm 51 since the 1912 Psalter, where the tune was named AJALON. The tune is also known as P…

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MADRID (Spanish)


REPOSE (Kücken)


All tunes published with 'Chief of Sinners Though I Be'^ top

Timeline

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Media

The Cyber Hymnal #803
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
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Instances

Instances (1 - 10 of 10)
Text

Christian Worship (1993) #385

Christian Worship (1993) #385
Text

Christian Worship #578

Christian Worship #578

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #268

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #268
TextPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #429

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #429
TextAudioPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #609

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #609
Text

Lutheran Service Book #611

Lutheran Service Book #611
TextPage Scan

Lutheran Worship #285

Lutheran Worship #285
TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #295

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #295

The Baptist Hymnal #175

The Baptist Hymnal #175
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #803

The Cyber Hymnal #803
Include 80 pre-1979 instances
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