Music Notes
I was inspired by Pastor Jeff’s sermon on prayer and looked up a favorite: Sweet Hour of Prayer…
Rev. Thomas Salmon (1800-1854), a Congrega-tional clergyman, served as the pastor of the Congregational Church in Coleshill, Warwickshire, England from 1838 to 1842. Upon his return to New York, he submitted the words to "Sweet Hour of Prayer" to The New York Observer with this note: "During my residence at Coleshill, Warwickshire, England, I became acquainted with W.W. Walford, the blind preacher, a man of obscure birth and connections and no education, but of strong mind and most retentive memory. In the pulpit he never failed to select a lesson well adapted to his subject, giving chapter and verse with unerring precision, and scarcely ever misplacing a word in his repetition of the Psalms, every part of the New Testament, the prophecies, and some of the histories, so as to have the reputation of knowing the whole Bible by heart."
He asked the Observer to publish these words "if you think them worthy of preservation." The newspaper agreed that the words were worthy, and published them in its September 13, 1845 issue.
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care, And bids me at my Father‟s throne Make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief And oft escaped the tempter‟s snare By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! The joys I feel, the bliss I share, Of those whose anxious spirits burn With strong desires for thy return! With such I hasten to the place Where God my Savior shows His face, And gladly take my station there, And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear To Him whose truth and faithfulness Engage the waiting soul to bless. And since He bids me seek His face, Believe His Word and trust His grace, I‟ll cast on Him my every care, And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! May I thy consolation share, Till, from Mount Pisgah‟s lofty height, I view my home and take my flight: This robe of flesh I‟ll drop and rise To seize the everlasting prize; And shout, while passing through the air, “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
-Copyright 2008, Richard Niell Donovan
Hug a musician today! Peace, Ann