The Cyber Hymnal ‎#2832

2832. I Hear Ten Thousand Voices Singing

1. I hear ten thousand voices singing,
Their praises to the Lord on high;
Far distant shores and hills are ringing
With anthems of their nations’ joy.
Praise ye the Lord! for He has given
To lands in darkness hid His light;
As morning rays light up the heaven,
His Word has chased away our night.

2. On China’s shores I hear His praises,
From lips that once kissed idol stones;
Soon as His banner He upraises,
The Spirit moves the breathless bones—
Speed, speed! Thy Word o’er land and ocean;
The Lord in triumph has gone forth;
The nations hear with strange emotion,
From East to West, from South to North.

3. The song has sounded o’er the waters,
And India’s plains re-echo joy;
Beneath the moon sit India’s daughters,
Soft singing, as the wheel they ply—
Thanks to Thee, Lord! for hope of glory,
For peace on earth to us revealed;
Our cherished idols fell before Thee,
Thy Spirit has our pardon sealed.

4. On Afric’s sunny shore, glad voices
Wake up the morn of Jubilee;
The negro, once a slave, rejoices,
Who’s freed by Christ is doubly free:
Sing, brothers, sing! yet many a nation
Shall hear the voice of God and live;
E’en we are heralds of salvation,
The Word He gave we’ll freely give.

5. Fair are New Zealand’s wooded mountains,
Deep glens, blue lakes and dizzy steeps;
But sweeter than the murmuring fountains
Rises the song from holy lips:
By blood did Jesus come to save us,
So deeply stained with brothers’ blood;
Our hearts we’ll give to Him who gave us
Deliverance from the fiery flood.

6. O’er prairies wild the song is spreading
Where once the war-cry sounded loud;
But now the evening sun is shedding
His rays upon a praying crowd:
Lord of all all worlds, eternal Spirit!
Thy light upon our darkness shed;
For Thy dear love, for Jesus’ merit,
From joyful hearts be worship paid.

7. Hark! hark! a louder sound is booming
O’er Heav’n and earth, o’er land and sea;
The angel’s trump proclaims His coming—
Ou day of endless Jubilee:
Hail to Thee, Lord! Thy people praise Thee;
In every land Thy name we sing;
On Heaven’s eternal throne upraise Thee;
Take Thou Thy power, Thou glorious king.

Text Information

• First Line: I hear ten thousand voices singing
• Title: I Hear Ten Thousand Voices Singing
• Author: Henry W. Fox (1848)
• Meter: 98.98 D
• Language: English
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: This hymn was written for the jubilee of the Church Missionary Society, probably in Masulipatam, India, where Fox had founded the Telegu Mission.

Tune Information

• Name: JUBILEE
• Composer: John Henry Maunder, 1858-1920
• Meter: 98.98 D
• Incipit: 33321 71544 44321
• Key: E Major
• Copyright: Public Domain