In Zions Sacred Fane The Joyous Lay – Hymn Lyric
The hymn, ‘In Zion?s Sacred Fane The Joyous Lay,’ captures the beauty of worship and reverence in God’s holy temple. It portrays joyful celebration, reverential fear, and grateful acknowledgment of divine goodness and power. With its heartfelt tribute to God’s greatness, this hymn resonates with the personal journey of faith and joy in alignment with the Lord’s mighty greatness.
Table of Contents
In Zions Sacred Fane The Joyous Lay
In Zion’s sacred fane the joyous lay
Thy name attends; thy favour’d people pay
The votive offering, Lord; the hallow’d blood
Flows round thy altar in a purple flood.
Propitious, thou our faithful vows dost hear;
To thee shall fly the sons of men in pray‘r.
Thy punishments for sin afflict me sore;
Cleanse me, my God, and they shall wound no more.
Blest is the man, whom thou shalt chuse a friend,
And in thy sacred temple bid attend!
O glorious lot! O heavenly employ!
Thy sacred temple fills his soul with joy.
The nations tremble with a dread dismay,
When thou thy righteous judgments dost display;
When fall thy terrors on the impious proud,
When crown thy bright rewards the humbly good.
Great is thy pow’r–when shatter’d by the storm,
Thou bid’st the mountain on her base stand firm.
By winds disturb’d, thou still’st the roaring sea,
And dost the tumults of the world allay.
Thy thunder rolls, thy rapid lightnings glare;
The hearts of all are sunk in awful fear:
Thy sun breaks forth, and gives to nature birth;
Owns thy beneficence the quicken’d earth:
Thou pour’st thy waters on the thirsty soil;
The fatten’d lands reward the ploughman’s toil:
With fruitful show’rs revived thou the fields,
And the rich glebe it’s golden produce yields:
Falls on the stubborn earth thy pearly dew;
The plains in all their verdant pride we view:
Or on the ridgey hills, or in the vales,
The glad’ning influence of thy pow’r prevails;
Gaily the herds along thy pastures rove;
Climb the steep cliff, or range the leafy grove;
Where’er they range, fair herbs and flow’rs abound;
Rich affluence covers the enamel’d ground;
Their God, the hills, the plains, the vallies sing,
And bless the bounties of their heav’nly king.
Meaning of In Zions Sacred Fane The Joyous Lay – Hymn Lyric
The hymn, ‘In Zion?s Sacred Fane The Joyous Lay,’ provides a beautiful image of the worship and reverence that exists within God?s holy temple, Zion. This hymn encapsulates a sense of joyful celebration, reverential fear, and grateful acknowledgment of divine goodness and power. In essence, this hymn is a heartfelt, genuine tribute to God’s greatness.
As depicted in the hymn, Zion’s sacred fane is where beloved worshippers gather to pay respects to their Lord. They rejoice in songs and praises in God?s name and pour out their heart?s pure offerings on His holy altar. This imagery of ?a purple flood’ perhaps represents the abundance of love and loyalty that the worshippers shower onto God. The Lord, in return, responds by hearing their faithful vows and prayers from people all over the world.
However, the hymn also acknowledges human sinfulness and its corresponding consequence – God?s punishment. This punishment is portrayed as a painful wound for God?s people, hence leading them to plead for God’s cleansing and mercy. From this, it’s clear that the hymn instructs devotees to maintain a constant, humble plea for God’s forgiveness.
The hymn proceeds to highlight the glorious blessings bestowed upon those whom God chooses. Considered divine friends, these chosen individuals are privileged to attend the sacred temple, experiencing unparalleled joy and heavenly bliss. This emphasizes the immense favor and honor that comes with being chosen by God, turning His temple into a haven of joy and contentment.
Interestingly, the hymn also enumerates God’s magnificent power and fair judgment. When God’s righteous judgments are rendered, nations tremble in fear yet revel in awe of His might. The wicked and arrogant are given due consequences, while the humble and good-hearted are duly rewarded, further underlining God?s power and righteous justice.
Moreover, the hymn extols God’s control over nature as a testimony of His unparalleled power. It paints an impressive picture of His authority – He calms the roaring sea; He stifles the world’s tumult; His thunderclaps and lightnings inspire awe and fear. Yet, His sun also gives life to nature, and His bounteous waters rejuvenate the earth, indicating that God’s power is not only mighty but also nurturing and life-giving.
The hymn finally concludes with the celebration of God’s goodness as evident in nature – in the fat lands ripe for plowing, in the abundant pastures for the herds, and in the verdant plains. These manifestations of God’s providence result in a harmonious chorus of thanks from the hills, plains, and valleys to their heavenly king.
‘In Zion?s Sacred Fane The Joyous Lay’ underscores the profound worship, adoration, fear, and gratitude towards God. It captures the beauty of communing with God in His temple, recognizes human sinfulness, seeks God?s forgiveness, and appreciates the marvelous awe-inspiring power and benevolence of God.
In essence, the hymn ‘In Zion?s Sacred Fane The Joyous Lay’ is a tribute to the bountiful love, mercy, justice, and power of God. It’s a song of reverence, celebration, confession, and absolute admiration for the divine. Just as the chosen ones find joy in God’s temple, anyone who delves into these verses can also find a reflection of their personal journey of faith and joy in alignment with the Lord’s mighty greatness.
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