My Soul Desires The Word

Representative Text

1 My soul de­sires the word,
As in­fants seek the breast;
To me its sacr­ed pro­mis­es
Afford a con­stant feast.

2 When I be­hold the page,
Where Je­sus’ glo­ries shine,
A ge­ni­al warmth spreads o’er my soul,
The pow­er of love di­vine.

3 Its pre­cepts are a light,
To guide me lest I stray,
A shin­ing lamp around my path,
To show my feet the way.

4 Its threat­en­ings awe the mind,
And make me fear to sin;
And while Thy word is my de­light,
It keeps my con­science clean.

5 ’Tis here, in deep dis­tress,
I solid comfort find;
Beneath the frown­ings of the world,
It soothes the trou­bled mind.

6 From im­per­fect­ion free,
In it all rich­es meet;
Not pur­est gold is half so dear,
Nor ho­ney half so sweet.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #16237

Author: Benjamin Beddome

Benjamin Beddome was born at Henley-in Arden, Warwickshire, January 23, 1717. His father was a Baptist minister. He studied at various places, and began preaching in 1740. He was pastor of a Baptist society at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, until his death in 1795. In 1770, he received the degree of M.A. from the Baptist College in Providence, Rhode Island. He published several discourses and hymns. "His hymns, to the number of 830, were published in 1818, with a recommendation from Robert Hall." Montgomery speaks of him as a "writer worthy of honour both for the quantity and the quality of his hymns." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: My soul de­sires the word
Title: My Soul Desires The Word
Author: Benjamin Beddome
Meter: 6.6.8.6
Source: Hymns Adapted to Public Worship (London: Burton & Briggs, 1818)
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

DENNIS (Nägeli)

Lowell Mason (PHH 96) arranged DENNIS and first published it in The Psaltery (1845), a hymnal he compiled with George. Webb (PHH 559). Mason attributed the tune to Johann G. Nageli (b. Wetzikon, near Zurich, Switzerland, 1773; d. Wetzikon, 1836) but included no source reference. Nageli presumably pu…

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The Cyber Hymnal #16237
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The Cyber Hymnal #16237

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