Marching to Zion

 I'm guessing this is a fairly well known hymn, but I didn't know, before today, that there were originally 10 stanzas. Most versions I've seen have only 4 verses. I thought that all 10 were pretty good and worth sharing.

"Come, we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known;

Join in a song with sweet accord, And thus surround the throne.

The sorrows of the mind be banished from the place:

Religion never was designed to make our pleasures less.

Let those refuse to sing That never knew our God;

But favourites of the Heavenly King May speak their joys abroad.

The God that rules on high, And thunders when he please,

That rides upon the stormy sky, And manages the seas,

This awful* God is ours, Our Father and our love,

He shall send down His heavenly powers to carry us above.

 (N.B. *I think the author meant this awful as in the sense of power and majesty, i.e. we should be full of awe!)

Then we shall see His face, And never, never sin:

There, from the rivers of His grace Drink endless pleasures in.

Yes, and before we rise to that immortal state,

The thoughts of such amazing bliss should constant joys create.

The men of grace have found Glory begun below;

Celestial fruits on earthly ground From faith and hope may grow.

The hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets,

Before we reach the heavenly fields, or walk the golden streets.

Then let our songs abound, and every tear be dry:

We’re marching through Emmanuel’s ground to fairer worlds on high."

Words: Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Music: Robert Lowry who added the chorus:

We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion,

We’re marching upward to Zion, beautiful city of God.

And yes, it's going to go round my head for a few days. It's a very catchy tune. 

How about you? Did you know more than 4 stanzas?

Another excerpt from a Susan Warner book

"Paul said he was an apostle 'by the will of God'; and whatever I may be, it shall be by the same will.
I am the Lord's servant; what He wants me to do, I will do, and He will show me what that is."

   "But Stephen, everything in this world is not for duty? Don't you allow some little chink or cranny where pleasure comes in?"

Stephen smiled, a smile that astonished his friend, and almost silenced him. "I have no greater pleasure than to do the will of God," he said. "See Charles, you do not understand it, because you do not know Him, but I know Him. He has redeemed me, and forgiven me, and adopted me; He has made me inexpressibly happy with His presence: I am not living without pleasure, I am full of it; and the only thing I wish for further in this world is to do what work my Lord has for me to do, and so please Him."

"Stephen M.D."