Welsh Title: Arglwydd arwain trwy’r Anialwch
Original (English)Title: Strength to Pass Through the Wilderness
Lyrics: Williams Williams, 1775. Translated to English by Peter Williams (no relation to William).
Music: CWM RHONDDA by John Hughes, 1907.
Theme: By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13:21-22.
Totally cool rendition of CWM RHONDDA by a Welsh Men’s choir:
*William Williams, nicknamed “The Sweet Singer of Wales,” was a medical student when he came under the influence and preaching of evangelist Howell Harris. Williams eventually left medical school and became an evangelist himself and writer of hymns. He wrote over 800 hymns, mostly in the Welsh language.
*Welsh composer John Hughes composed the beloved tune CWM RHONDDA in 1907 for the annual Baptist Cymnfa Ganu (singing festival) at the Capel Rhondda, Potypridd, Wales.
*Three women missionaries in China are said to have sung this hymn as bandits were beating on their door. God was their Strong Deliverer.
*The hymn was sung in Flanders in the trenches by the Welsh soldiers, and it was so melodious that the German soldiers took it up and sang along.
*Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah has been translated into over seventy-five different languages.
*The Welsh to this day sing Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah at outdoor sporting events, especially rugby matches.
*The hymn was sung at Princess Diana’s funeral.
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
[or Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer…]
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.
Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st Thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.
Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav’nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Sources:
Center for Church Music.
Hymnscript: The Art of Hymns.
Suite 101: Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
I’ve never seen more than three verses (the first, second and fourth of your five) to my recollection. In this case (unlike an earlier one, What wondrous love is this, where I have adopted both the new-to-me stanzas as my own) I think I will stick with the three I’m used to.
Until the last fifty years or so it was quite common to find “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” set to ZION, and I recently discovered that the Karen Baptist hymnal of 1963 has the Karen translation set to a different tune, GUIDANCE, which I rather like. Even though CWM RHONDDA is obviously now the canonical tune for this text, it’s IMHO useful to preserve the alternatives, especially if one wants to sing, say, this hymn and “God of Grace and God of Glory” on the same occasion.