Evangelical Lutheran hymnal ‎#116

116. O that I had a thousand voices!

1 O that I had a thousand voices!
A mouth to speak with thousand tongues!
Then, with a heart His praise rejoices,
Would I proclaim in grateful songs
To all, wherever I might be,
What things the Lord hath done for me.

2 Dear Father, endless praise I render,
For soul and body strangely joined;
I praise Thee, Guardian kind and tender,
For all the noble joys I find
So richly spread on every side,
And freely for my use supplied.

3 What equal praises can I offer,
Dear Jesus, for Thy mercy shown?
What pangs, my Savior, didst Thou suffer,
And thus for all my sins atone!
Thy death alone my soul could free
From Satan, to be blest with Thee.

4 Honor and praise, still onward reaching,
Be Thine too, Spirit of all grace,
Whose holy power and faithful teaching
Give me among Thy saints a place:
Whate'er of good in me may shine
Comes only from Thy light divine.

5 Accept, O Lord, I now implore Thee,
The meager praise I give below:
In heaven I better will adore Thee,
When I an angel's strength shall know:
There would I join their sacred praise,
And heav'nly hallelujahs raise.

Text Information

• First Line: O that I had a thousand voices!
• Author: Johann Mentzer (1704)
• Translator: Dr. Henry Mills (1845)
• Meter: No. 32
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1908
• Topic: The Church Year: Trinity; Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
• Notes: Now Public Domain. From the German text: O dass ich tausend Zungen haette

Tune Information

• Name: ELBE (O dass ich tausend Zungen hätte)
• Composer: Johann Balthasar König (1738)
• Meter: No. 32
• Key: F Major
• Notes: Public Domain.