Bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
With gold of obedience and incense of lowliness,
Kneel and adore him, the Lord is his name.
2. Low at his feet lay thy burden of carefulness,
High on his heart he will bear it for thee,
Comfort thy sorrows, and answer thy prayerfulness,
Guiding thy steps as may best for thee be.
3. Fear not to enter his courts in the slenderness
Of the poor wealth thou wouldst reckon as thine:
Truth in its beauty and love in its tenderness:
These are the offerings to lay on his shrine.
4. These, though we bring them in trembling and fearfulness,
He will accept for the name that is dear;
Mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness,
Trust for our trembling, and hope for our fear.
5. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
With gold of obedience and incense of lowliness,
Kneel, and adore him, the Lord is his name.
This hymn is commonly paired with the tune Sanctissimus (12.10.12.10.) by William H. Cooke (1820-1912). The hymn is by John Samuel Bewley Monsell. He was born in Ireland in 1811 and died at Surrey, England, in 1875. He married Anne Waller in 1835. She died in 1885, and they are both buried at the Guildford Cemetery in Guildford, Guildford Borough, Surrey, England.
Monsell was ordained in 1835 and served several churches in Ireland before transferring to England in 1853. He was rector of St. Nicholas Church in Guilford from 1870 until his death in 1875, which was due to a construction accident at the church building.
11 book collections of his hymns over 37 years are:
- Hymns and Miscellaneous Poems, 1837
- Parish Musings, or Devotional Poems, 1850
- Spiritual Songs for the Sundays and Holy Days throughout the Year, 1857
- His Presence, not His Memory, 1855/1858;
- Hymns of Love and Praise for the Church’s Year, 1863
- The Passing Bell; Ode to The Nightingales, and Other Poems, 1867
- Litany Hymns, 1869
- The Parish Hymnal after the Order of The Book of Common Prayer, 1873
- Simon the Cyrenian; and Other Poems, 1873
- Nursery Carols, 1873
- Watches by the Cross, 1874
These collections contain about three hundred hymns by Monsell (some are repeated in various editions). In addition to his prolific poetical work, he also issued prose works, including Our New Vicar and The Winton Church Catechist.
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