O Be Joyful in the Lord!
SATB and Organ. This excellent anthem is based on the hymn tune Finlay by Harold W. Friedell. Using Psalm 100 as its text, this is a great choral piece for anytime and a splendid introduction to a "forgotten" hymn by Mr. Friedell. Text by Curtis Beach.
O be joyful in the Lord!
Sing before him, all the earth!
Praise him with a glad accord
And with lives of noblest worth.
You of ev'ry land,
Humbly now before him stand!
Raise your voice and rejoice
In the bounty of his hand.
Know ye that the Lord is King!
All his works his wisdom prove!
By his might the heavens ring;
In his love we live and move.
By him we are made,
So we trust him unafraid.
Standing fast to the last,
By his hand our lives are stayed.
Enter now his holy gate:
Let our burdened hearts be still;
In the sacred silence wait,
As we seek to know his will.
Let our lives express
Our abundant thankfulness;
All our days, all our ways,
Shall our Father's love confess.
For the Lord our God is kind,
And his love shall constant be;
In his will our peace we find;
In his service, liberty.
Yea, his law is sure;
In his light we walk secure;
Evermore, as of yore,
Shall his changeless truth endure.