Behold we come, dear Lord, to Thee

Behold we come, dear Lord, to Thee.  John Austin* (1613-1669).  First published in Austin’s Devotions in the Antient Way of Offices (Paris, 1668) in seven 4-line stanzas, where it was the first hymn in ‘The Office for Sunday’, appointed for Matins on Sunday. John Wesley* used stanzas 1-6 in his first hymnbook, A Collection of Psalms and Hymns (Charlestown, 1737), omitting the final stanza. Austin’s original text was: Behold we come, dear Lord, to Thee,  And bow before Thy throne;We come to offer on our knee  Our vows to Thee alone. Whate’er we have, whate’er we are,  Thy bounty freely gave;Thou dost us here in mercy spare,  And wilt hereafter save. But O, can all our store afford   No...

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