"Oh, that I Had a Thousand Voices"
                         by Johann Mentzer, 1658-1734
                                  Text From:
                      THE HANDBOOK TO THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL
                 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1942)



        1. Oh that I had a thousand voices
        To praise my God with thousand tongues!
        My heart, which in the Lord rejoices,
        Would then proclaim in grateful songs
        To all, wherever I might be,
        What great things God hath done for me.

        2. O all ye powers that He implanted,
        Arise, and silence keep no more;
        Put forth the strength that He hath granted,
        Your noblest work is to adore.
        O soul and body, be ye meet
        With heartfelt praise your Lord to greet!

        3. Ye forest leaves so green and tender,
        That dance for joy in summer air;
        Ye meadow grasses, bright and slender;
        Ye flowers so wondrous sweet and fair;
        Ye live to show His praise alone,
        With me now make His glory known.

        4. All creatures that have breath and motion,
        That throng the earth, the sea, the sky,
        Now join me in my heart's devotion,
        Help me to raise His praises high,
        My utmost powers can ne'er aright
        Declare the wonders of His might.

        5. Lord, I will tell, while I am living,
        Thy goodness forth with every breath
        And greet each morning with thanksgiving
        Until my heart is still in death;
        Yea, when at last my lips grow cold,
        Thy praise shall in my sighs be told.

        6. O Father, deign Thou, I beseech Thee,
        To listen to my earthly lays;
        A nobler strain in heaven shall reach Thee,
        When I with angels hymn Thy praise
        And learn amid their choirs to sing
        Loud hallelujahs to my King.

        

        Notes from _The Lutheran Hymnal_
        Hymn #30 from _The the Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal_
        Text: Ps. 126:3
        Author: Johann Mentzer, 1704, cento
        Translated by: composite
        Titled: "O dass ich tausend Zungen haette"
        Composer: Johann B. Koenig, 1738
        Tune: "O dass ich tausend"

           

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