Scripture Verse

Love one another, as I have loved you. John 13:34

Introduction

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John G. Whittier 1807–1892

Words: John G. Whit­ti­er, 1848. This hymn be­gins with stan­za 11 of Whit­tier’s po­em on Wor­ship, gi­ven in full in his Com­plete Po­eti­cal Works, 1876, page 96.

Music: Sec­comb Charles H. Morse, 1893 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Morse (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

O he whom Je­sus loved has tru­ly spok­en,
That ho­li­er wor­ship, which God deigns to bless,
Restores the lost, and heals the spi­rit brok­en,
And feeds the wi­dow and the fa­ther­less.

Then, bro­ther man, fold to thy heart thy bro­ther,
For where love dwells, the peace of God is there;
To wor­ship right­ly is to love each oth­er;
Each smile a hymn, each kind­ly deed a pray­er.

Follow with rev­er­ent steps the great ex­am­ple
Of Him whose ho­ly work was do­ing good;
So shall the wide earth seem our Fa­ther’s tem­ple,
Each lov­ing life a psalm of gra­ti­tude.