Sanctissimus

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, Bow down before Him, His glory proclaim

Author: John S. B. Monsell
Opening Hymns
Published in 143 hymnals

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Representative Text

1 O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him: the Lord is his name.

2 Low at his feet lay thy burden of carefulness:
high on his heart he will bear it for thee,
comfort thy sorrows, and answer thy prayerfulness,
guiding thy steps as may best for thee be.

3 Fear not to enter his courts in the slenderness
of the poor wealth thou wouldst reckon as thine:
truth in its beauty, and love in its tenderness,
these are the offerings to lay on his shrine.

4 These, though we bring them in trembling and fearfulness,
he will accept for the name that is dear;
mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness,
trust for our trembling and hope for our fear.

5 O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him: the Lord is his name.

Source: Ancient and Modern: hymns and songs for refreshing worship #103

Author: John S. B. Monsell

John Samuel Bewley Monsell (b. St. Colomb's, Londonderry, Ireland, 1811; d. Guilford, Surrey, England, 1875) was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and served as a chaplain and rector of several churches in Ireland after his ordination in 1835. Transferred to England in 1853, he became rector of Egham in Surrey and was rector of St. Nicholas Church in Guilford from 1870 until his death (caused by a construction accident at his church). A prolific poet, Monsell published his verse in eleven volumes. His three hundred hymns, many celebrating the seasons of the church year, were issued in collections such as Hymns and Miscellaneous Poems (1837), Spiritual Songs (1857), Hymns of Love and Praise (1863), and The Parish Hymnal (1873). Bert P… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, Bow down before Him, His glory proclaim
Title: Sanctissimus
Original Language: English
Author: John S. B. Monsell
Meter: 12.10.12.10
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
Liturgical Use: Opening Hymns

Notes

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. J. S. B. Monsell. [Epiphany; or, Divine Worship.] This hymn for the Epiphany is found in two forms, both by Dr. Monsell, and each is in common use. The first and most extensively used is the original, which opens with O worship,” &c. It was published in his Hymns of Love and Praise, 1863, p. 103, in 5 stanza of 4 lines. It is found, sometimes altered, in a large number of hymn-books in Great Britain and America. Original text in Taring's Collection, 1882. The second form is Dr. Monsell's revision of the 1863 text which he made for, and included in, his Parish Hymnal in 1873, No. 85, as, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." This is almost unknown.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Media

The Book of Common Praise: being the hymn book of The Church of England in Canada (revised 1938) #98b
The Cyber Hymnal #5535
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
The Cyber Hymnal #7631
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Small Church Music #256
  • PDF Score (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 35 of 35)
Text

Ancient and Modern #103

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #583

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #115

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #196

TextPage Scan

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #201

TextPage Scan

Common Praise (1998) #385

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Common Praise #89

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Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #552

Page Scan

Complete Mission Praise #529

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #103

Hymnal #220

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #49

Hymns and Psalms #505

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Hymns for a Pilgrim People #416

TextPage Scan

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #344

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #201

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #905

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs #154

TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #6

Singing the Faith #34

Audio

Small Church Music #256

Songs of Faith and Praise #154

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #481

TextPage Scan

The Book of Praise #174

The Celebration Hymnal #289

The Christian Life Hymnal #143

TextScore

The Cyber Hymnal #5535

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #7631

Text

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #165

Text

The Irish Presbyterian Hymnbook #198a

TextPage Scan

The Irish Presbyterian Hymnbook #198b

TextPage Scan

The New English Hymnal #52

Text

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #183

Text

Together in Song #454

Worship Together #1

Include 108 pre-1979 instances
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