There are several accounts as to the origin of the beautiful hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus.” The best known legend is that it was sung by the twelfth century German Crusaders, as they made their long, weary way to the Holy Land. Another, more credible account is that it was sung by the followers of John Hus, who were driven out of Bohemia in 1620 in the anti-Reformation purge, who settled in Silesia, now part of Poland. They had to keep their faith secret, yet had a strong tradition of hymn singing. I like the below version sung by Emu Music with updated words; enjoy!

Fairest Lord Jesus,
Ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honour,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows,
Fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Saviour!
Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honour,
Praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be thine.

¹songsandhymns.org/hymns/detail/fairest-lord-jesus

Little is known about Dorothy Thrupp except she wrote many hymns for children. She often. used the pseudonym “Iota” or the initials D.A.T. This hymn was included in a book she edited for children called “Hymns for the Young”. It is based on Psalm 23 and John 10, where Jesus called Himself “the Good Shepherd”. Ira Sankey, a famous 19th Century gospel singer who would travel with D.L. Moody, once sang this hymn at a Christmas Eve gathering. Afterwards a man approached him who was a Confederate soldier. He told the story of how he raised his gun to shoot a Union solder, when the man began to sing this hymn. Deciding to wait until he has finished singing the hymn, he then remembered his own mother used to sing this hymn to him; at the end he could not pull the trigger and kill him. The twist in the story was that the soldier who had sang the hymn was Sankey himself!¹ Enjoy this one 🙂

Saviour, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.

We are Thine, do Thou befriend us,
Be the guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray;
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray.

Thou hast promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow’r to free:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee;
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee.

Early let us seek Thy favour,
Early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Saviour,
With Thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still;
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still.

¹page 98 – Leeman, D. and Leeman, B., 2022. Our Hymns, Our Heritage: A Student Guide to Songs of the Church

Written by Charles Wesley, “Jesus, Thine All Victorious Love” comes from the Wesleys’ great compendium, A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (A Collection of Hymns).² John Wesley, in the 1779 preface to that collection, calls it a “little body of experimental and practical divinity. This hymn stands out in that collection as an exemplary text for the Easter season. This is the fourth and last in a series of articles in the month of April exploring hymns especially appropriate for Eastertide. As with many Wesley hymns that we sing today, the four stanzas given in the are but part of a much longer hymn called “My God! I know, I feel thee mine.” The complete hymn is found in Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists in the section, “For Believers, Groaning for Full Redemption.” Atop the hymn text in the early editions sits a scripture reference to Romans 4:13, which speaks of the promise God made to Abraham and the righteousness of his faith¹. Enjoy!

Jesus, thine all-victorious love
shed in my heart abroad;
then shall my feet no longer rove,
rooted and fixed in God.

O that in me the sacred fire
might now begin to glow;
burn up the dross of base desire
and make the mountains flow!

O that it now from heaven might fall
and all my sins consume!
Come, Holy Ghost, for thee I call,
Spirit of burning, come!

Refining fire, go through my heart,
illuminate my soul;
scatter thy life through every part
and sanctify the whole.

¹umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-jesus-thine-all-victorious-love-wesley

This hymn is written by Isaac Watts in 1709, who no doubt draws inspiration from Hebrews, where Jesus is clearly and profoundly portrayed as our great high priest. Christ not only intercedes to God on our behalf as the high priests of Israel did, but by offering his blood as the sacrifice for our sins, guarantees us full peace, pardon and forgiveness. This version by Kirk Ward also has an added refrain; enjoy!

Jesus, my great High Priest,
Offered his blood and died;
My guilty conscience seeks
No sacrifice beside.
His pow’rful blood did once atone,
And now it pleads before the Throne.

To this dear Surety’s hand
Will I commit my cause;
He answers and fulfills
His Father’s broken laws.
Behold my soul at freedom set;
My Surety paid the dreadful debt.

Refrain
Now I approach the throne
And I have confidence;
Jesus, my great High Priest,
Offered his blood and died.
Now I approach the throne,
And I have confidence;
Jesus, my great High Priest
offered his blood and died,
For me.

My Advocate appears
For my defense on high;
The Father bows his ears
And lays his thunder by.
Not all that hell or sin can say
Shall turn his heart, his love, away.

Refrain

Should all the hosts of death
And pow’rs of hell unknown
Put their most dreadful forms
Of rage and mischief on,
I shall be safe, for Christ displays
His conqu’ring pow’r and guardian grace.

Refrain

This choice was a Latin hymn written sometime in the late 6th or 7th Century under the title Urbs beata Jerusalem. The original hymn was sung as an unaccompanied plainsong melody. In 1851, John Mason Neale translated the hymn from Latin into English.  Many modern versions of the texts vary greatly from his original translations. The hymn has been performed at the marriage ceremonies of the British Royals Princess Margaret in 1960 and Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981. It was also the opening hymn for the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee service in June 2022 (video below!) and performed a few months later at her funeral in September 2022¹.

Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ, our head and cornerstone,
chosen of the Lord and precious,
binding all the Church in one;
holy Zion’s help forever
and our confidence alone.

To this temple, where we call you,
come, O Lord of hosts, and stay;
come with all your lovingkindness,
hear your people as they pray;
and your fullest benediction
speak within these walls today.

Grant, we pray, to all your faithful
all the gifts they ask to gain;
what they gain from you forever
with the blessed to retain;
And hereafter in your glory
evermore with you to reign.

Praise and honor to the Father,
praise and honor to the Son,
praise and honor to the Spirit,
ever three and ever one:
one in might and one in glory
while unending ages run!

¹dianaleaghmatthews.com/hymn-story-christ-is-made-the-sure-foundation/#.Y_aSYezP1qs

Thomas Piggott was a missionary to China.  His sister, Jean Piggott, wrote the song, Jesus, I am Resting, Resting. She was born in County Kildare, Ireland on September 8, 1845 and almost two years later on August 5, 1847, her brother Thomas Wellesley Piggot was born. Thomas, arrived in China in 1879 as a missionary.  In a letter written in May 1896, he says in part “Now there are many hundreds of converts, many of them earnest, faithful men, and a large number of stations where thousands are brought under Christian influence. How shall we look on the investment of our lives and labour here, even from the near standpoint of one hundred years hence? I am, I can truly say, more grateful every day for the opportunity of serving Christ, and I believe this to be the only true and sober view of life s realities. The work pressed home now, will make all the difference a few years hence.” On July 9, 1901 he was executed at the age of fifty-three, along with seventy-six other Christian missionaries, in the Boxer Rebellion at the Sheo Yang Mission uprising. J. Hudson Taylor, a great missionary to China for 51 years, was terribly saddened to hear of the loss of his friends and fellow missionaries following the slayings. Jesus, I am Resting, Resting became a great comfort to him during this time¹.

Jesus, I am resting, resting
in the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon thee,
as thy beauty fills my soul,
for by thy transforming power,
thou hast made me whole.

Refrain
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
in the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of thy loving heart.

O how great thy lovingkindness,
vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous thy goodness
lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in thee, Beloved,
know what wealth of grace is thine,
know thy certainty of promise
and have made it mine.

Refrain

Simply trusting thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold thee as thou art,
and thy love, so pure, so changeless,
satisfies my heart;
satisfies its deepest longings,
meets, supplies its ev’ry need,
compasseth me round with blessings:
thine is love indeed.

Refrain

Ever lift thy face upon me
as I work and wait for thee;
resting ‘neath thy smile, Lord Jesus,
earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
sunshine of my Father’s face,
keep me ever trusting, resting,
fill me with thy grace.

Refrain

¹dianaleaghmatthews.com/jesus-i-am-resting-resting/#.Y_aQNuzP0dk