Some of you may remember this movie (my favorite movie I am unashamed to say) Sister Act 2.
I think I have listened to this version of this song about 1000 times. God really put this song in my heart since a young age. I can't say that Lauren Hill had NOTHING to do with it. I decided to get a tattoo of the sheet music of the original version of this song. I then decided to do a little research so I didn't look like a complete fool not knowing a thing about it when someone asked me. What I found was AWESOME.
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.
Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.
Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.
Seriously, these lyrics are SO powerful. I get chills thinking about certain lines.
Words: Henry J. van Dyke, 1907. Van Dyke wrote this hymn while staying at the home of Harry A. Garfield at Williams College, Massachusetts. It was first published in the Presbyterian Hymnal in 1911. It also appeared in the Poems of Henry van Dyke, 1911. Van Dyke wrote:
These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.
Music: Hymn to Joy, from the 9th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven; adapted by Edward Hodges, 1824
Born: November 10, 1852, Germantown, Pennsylvania. Died: April 10, 1933, Princeton, New Jersey. Buried: Princeton, New Jersey. |  |
Van Dyke attended Princeton University, then served as pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. Seventeen years later, he returned to Princeton as a professor of English literature. Afterward, he held a number of eminent posts: American ambassador to the Netherlands and Luxembourg, moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Commander of the Legion of Honor, and President of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He chaired the committee that compiled the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship in 1905, and helped prepare the revised in edition in 1932.
Some of Van Dyke’s quotes that have been widely published:
There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.
Who seeks for Heaven alone to save his soul
May keep the path, but will not reach the goal;
While he who walks in love may wander far,
Yet God will bring him where the blessed are.
Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best.
This guy seems LEGIT.
I love how he says that this song just expressed how they felt in THAT age. How much more now should we be singing songs of our generation. How much more should we be WRITING songs of our generation and our love for Jesus?
One thing is for sure. I am getting a tattoo of this sheet music, and I am going to cherish it forever. Mostly because once it is tattooed it is there forever, but I hope to be singing a joyful song to the Lord for EVER AND EVER.
This post looks like a 7th grader wrote it. Oh well, onward and upward.
April Schief
"My lips will shout with Joy when I sing praises to You" Psalm 18
