Beneath the sacred throne of God

Representative Text

1 Beneath the sacred throne of God
I saw a river rise;
The streams where peace and pard’ning blood
Descended from the skies.

2 I stood amazed and wondered when
Or why this ocean rose;
That wafts salvation down to man,
His traitors and His foes.

3 That sacred flood from Jesus’ veins
Was free to make away;
And Mary’s or Manasseh’s stains,
Or sins more vile than they

Source: The Sacred Harp: the best collection of sacred songs, hymns, odes, and anthems ever offered the singing public for general use (1991 rev.) #569b

Author: John Kent

Kent, John, was born at Bideford, Devonshire, Dec. 1766, and died Nov. 15, 1843. As a working shipwright his opportunities for acquiring the education and polish necessary for the production of refined verse were naturally limited. His hymns are strongly worded, very earnest and simple, and intensely Calvinistic. A few were published in Samuel Reece's Collection, 1799. The first edition of his Collection of Original Gospel Hymns, was published in 1803, and the 10th edition, with "The Author's Experience," in verse, 264 hymns, 15 longer pieces, and a Life by his Son in 1861. The Calvinistic teaching so prominent in his hymns has restricted their use to a limited number of collections. The greatest use made of them in modern hymnbooks has bee… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Beneath the sacred throne of God
Author: John Kent
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

MARTYRDOM (Wilson)

MARTYRDOM was originally an eighteenth-century Scottish folk melody used for the ballad "Helen of Kirkconnel." Hugh Wilson (b. Fenwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, c. 1766; d. Duntocher, Scotland, 1824) adapted MARTYRDOM into a hymn tune in duple meter around 1800. A triple-meter version of the tune was fir…

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Timeline

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The Sacred Harp #569b

Include 11 pre-1979 instances
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