
1 Not to the terrors of the Lord,
The tempest, fire, and smoke:
Not to the thunder of that word
Which God on Sinai spoke:
2 But we are come to Sion's hill,
The city of our God;
Where milder words declare His will,
And spread His love abroad.
3 Behold th' innumerable host
Of angels clothed in light:
Behold the spirits of the just,
Whose faith is turned to sight.
4 Behold the blest assembly there
Whose names are writ in heaven;
Hear God, the Judge of all, declare
Their sins, through Christ, forgiven.
5 Angels, and living saints, and dead
But one communion make:
All join in Christ, their living Head,
And of His love partake.
First Line: | Not to the terrors of the Lord |
Title: | Sinai and Zion |
Author: | Isaac Watts |
Meter: | 8.6.8.6 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Not to the terrors of the Lord. I. Watts. [Whitsuntide.] Appeared in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1709, Bk. ii., No. 152, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled "Sinai and Sion." It is in common use in Great Britain and America. It is also in use in the following forms:—
1. Not to the terrors of the Lord. In the Mitre Hymn Book, 1836, No. 203; Kennedy, 1863, and others. This is composed of stanzas i., ii., from Watts, and a third stanza probably by E. Osier, who assisted W. J. Hall in compiling the Mitre Hymn Book.
2. Behold the radiant, countless host. Composed of stanzas iii., v. altered, in The Church Hymnal, Philadelphia, 1869.
3. The saints on earth and those above (q.v.). The opening stanza of this cento is stanza v. of this hymn.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)