The Glorious Beauty of Thy Name

For the Second Sunday in Lent I'm returning to Hymnal: A Worshipbook (1992), a collection that I wrote about last summer and intended to get back to at some point. Today's hymn appears in the section titled "Faith Journey: Confession/Repentance", which certainly seems appropriate for Lent.  The hymn first appeared in Hymns for Missions (1854), a small collection compiled by Henry Augustine Collins, who also wrote the text.

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All,
Hear me, blest Savior, when I call;
Hear me, and from thy dwelling place
Pour down the riches of thy grace;
Jesus, my Lord, I thee adore;
O make me love thee more and more.

Jesus, too late I thee have sought;
How can I love thee as I ought?
And how extol thy matchless fame,
The glorious beauty of thy name?
Jesus, my Lord, I thee adore;
O make me love thee more and more.

Jesus, what didst thou find in me
That thou hast dealt so lovingly?
How great the joy that thou hast brought,
So far exceeding hope or thought!
Jesus, my Lord, I thee adore;
O make me love thee more and more.

Jesus, of thee shall be my song;
To thee my heart and soul belong;
All that I have or am is thine;
And thou, sweet Savior, thou art mine;
Jesus, my Lord, I thee adore;
O make me love thee more and more.

Henry Augustine Collins, 1854
Tune: ADORO TE (8.8.8.8.8.8.)
Joseph Barnby, 1871

Collins was ordained in the Church of England, but converted to Roman Catholicism in 1857, perhaps influenced by the Oxford Movement.  In 1860 he joined the monastic order of the Cistercians and went to live at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey until 1882, when he became chaplain to the nuns at the Holy Cross Abbey in Dorsetshire.


Eight (Liturgical) Years Ago: Unto the hills around do I lift up

Seven (Liturgical) Years Ago: Turn back, turn back