We Ask Not That the Stones Be Bread

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We ask not that the stones be bread

Author: Anonymous
Tune: CANONBURY
Published in 1 hymnal

Piano/Organ
	A Still, Small Voice (Reflective Hymn Se…

Representative Text

1 We ask not that the stones be bread,
For in the soil food plenty grows;
And skilful men shall make instead
The deserts blossom as the rose.

2 We pray not for some angel wing
To bear us up from pavement stone;
But to the temple we shall bring
Our humble hearts to thee alone.

3 We seek not with the legion's swords
To win the kingdoms far and wide;
But with thy peaceful courage, Lord,
To bring the nations to thy side.

4 From Upper Room, we shall not cease
To suffer, love, forgive, and share,
Until the gospel of thy peace
Shall bind the nations everywhere.

Amen.

Source: The Hymnal for Boys and Girls #67

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Author: Anonymous

In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries. Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	We ask not that the stones be bread
Title:	We Ask Not That the Stones Be Bread
Author:	Anonymous
Meter:	8.8.8.8

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Tune

CANONBURY

Derived from the fourth piano piece in Robert A. Schumann's Nachtstücke, Opus 23 (1839), CANONBURY first appeared as a hymn tune in J. Ireland Tucker's Hymnal with Tunes, Old and New (1872). The tune, whose title refers to a street and square in Islington, London, England, is often matched to Haver…

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