O Jesus, strong and pure, and true

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O Jesus, strong and pure, and true

Author: William Walsham How
Published in 5 hymnals

Piano/Organ
	Rhapsody on English Hymntunes (Organ Due…

Representative Text

1 O Jesus, strong and pure and true,
before Your feet we bow;
the grace of earlier years renew,
and lead us onward now.

2 The joyous life that year by year
within these walls is stored,
the golden hope, the gladsome cheer,
we bring to You, O Lord.

3 Our faith endow with keener powers,
with warmer glow our love,
and draw these faltering hearts of ours
from earth to heaven above.

4 In paths our bravest ones have trod
O make us strong to go,
that we may give our lives to God
in serving all below.

5 Scorn we the selfish aim or choice,
and love's high precept keep:
'Rejoice with those that do rejoice
and weep with them that weep.'

6 So hence shall flow fresh strength and grace,
as from a full-fed spring,
to make the world a better place,
and life a worthier thing.

Source: The Irish Presbyterian Hymnbook #597

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Author: William Walsham How

William W. How (b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, 1823; d. Leenane, County Mayo, Ireland, 1897) studied at Wadham College, Oxford, and Durham University and was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. He served various congregations and became Suffragan Bishop in east London in 1879 and Bishop of Wakefield in 1888. Called both the "poor man's bishop" and "the children's bishop," How was known for his work among the destitute in the London slums and among the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He wrote a number of theological works about controversies surrounding the Oxford Movement and attempted to reconcile biblical creation with the theory of evolution. He was joint editor of Psalms and Hymns (1854) and Church Hymns (1871). While rec… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	O Jesus, strong and pure, and true
Author:	William Walsham How
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

O Jesu, strong and pure and true. W. W. How. [Commemoration.] Written for the Jubilee of Marlborough College, 1893, and included in the Hymns for Use in the Chapel of Marlborough College, 1899. It has passed into the Hymns for the Use of Rugby School, 1896; the Public School Hymn Book, 1903, and others.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

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