1000 Songs/Come ye that love the Lord (Isaac Watts)

Come we that love the Lord (Watts)

1000 Songs

Text
Come, we that love the Lord,

And let our joys be known;

Join in a song with sweet accord,

Join in a song with sweet accord

And thus surround the throne,

And thus surround the throne.

Refrain:

We’re marching to Zion,

Beautiful, beautiful Zion;

We’re marching upward to Zion,

The beautiful city of God.

The sorrows of the mind

Be banished from the place;

Religion never was designed

Religion never was designed,

To make our pleasures less,

To make our pleasures less.

Refrain

Let those refuse to sing,

Who never knew our God;

But favorites of the heavenly King,

But favorites of the heavenly King

May speak their joys abroad,

May speak their joys abroad.

Refrain

The God that rules on high,

And thunders when He please,

Who rides upon the stormy sky,

Who rides upon the stormy sky,

And manages the seas,

And manages the seas.

Refrain

This awful God is ours,

Our Father and our Love;

He will send down his heav’nly powers,

He will send down his heav’nly powers,

To carry us above,

To carry us above.

Refrain

There we shall see His face,

And never, never sin!

There, from the rivers of His grace,

There, from the rivers of His grace,

Drink endless pleasures in,

Drink endless pleasures in.

Refrain

Yea, and before we rise,

To that immortal state,

The thoughts of such amazing bliss,

The thoughts of such amazing bliss,

Should constant joys create,

Should constant joys create.

Refrain

The men of grace have found,

Glory begun below.

Celestial fruits on earthly ground

Celestial fruits on earthly ground

From faith and hope may grow,

From faith and hope may grow.

Refrain

The hill of Zion yields

A thousand sacred sweets

Before we reach the heav’nly fields,

Before we reach the heav’nly fields,

Or walk the golden streets,

Or walk the golden streets.

Refrain

Then let our songs abound,

And every tear be dry;

We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,

We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,

To fairer worlds on high,

To fairer worlds on high.

Refrain

The hymnic meter is 6.6.8.8.6.6 with Refrain

Author
The Father of English Hymnody Isaac Watts. Watts took a fresh stance on corporate worship. He believed that original freely composed hymns could be sung along with Psalms. His hymns tended to relate more to the singers rather than the original Psalm writers.

Robert Lowry, who wrote the hymn tune, later in 1867 added a refrain. This effectively transformed Isaac Watts' hymn into a gospel song.

Music
The hymn tune MARCHING TO ZION was written by Robert Lowry in 1867 and is the most famous tune associated with "Come Ye that Love The Lord".

Tune
MARCHING TO ZION includes the typical lilting rhythm in 6/8 time often found in gospel songs. It contains one secondary dominant, but is otherwise completely diatonic. It has a simple melody that does not go below scale degree one or above scale degree 5, although it sometimes makes the leap between the two.

Arrangements
Several other tunes can have been applied to "Come Ye that Love The Lord", but they do not contain refrains and thus have fallen out of common use.

ST. THOMAS by Aaron Williams.

SILCHESTER by H. A. Cé­sar Ma­lan.

AIN by Arc­an­ge­lo Cor­rel­li and arranged by Lowell Mason.

Editor's Choice
MARCHING TO ZION

Background
Watts' hymns were gaining popularity and were published in 1707 in Hymns and Spiritual Songs. "Come Ye that Love The Lord" first appeard in this volume of 210 hymns.