Lyrics: Horatius Bonar, 1846.
Music: VOX DILECTI by John Dykes, 1868.
KINGSFOLD from a folk melody arranged by Ralph Vaughn Williams.
THere are also three more alternate tunes for this hymn at Hymn Time, none of which I recognize. I prefer the Vaughn WIlliams version.
Theme: Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-20
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast.â€
I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live.â€
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.â€
I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “My Father’s house above
Has many mansions; I’ve a place prepared for you in love.â€
I trust in Jesus—in that house, according to His word,
Redeemed by grace, my soul shall live forever with the Lord.
Horatius Bonar was known as the Prince of Scottish Hymn Writers. He wrote more than 600 hymns.
This hymn was the first one on Brown Bear Daughter’s top ten list.
The boy soprano in this video is Anthony Way, and he’s singing this hymn to the Vaughan Williams tune.
Rabbit trailing furiously, I noticed that young Mr. Way, according to Wikipedia, “has . . . starred as Tom Long in 2000’s film version of Tom’s Midnight Garden. Ummm, in case you didn’t know, Tom’s Midnight Garden by Phillippa Pearce is a fine fantasy classic. I haven’t seen the movie.
There is another tune (in addition to VOX DILECTI and KIINGSFOLD) that occurs in some Baptist-slanted hymnals; I’m not sure what the received tune name for it is, but in my catalogue of the complete hymnic contents of 36 hymnals (and counting) it occurs in 4, vs. 11 for VOX DILECTI and 3 for KINGSFOLD. The hymnals that I found it in are the New National Baptist Hymnal, 2000, (widely used in Black Baptist churches), Ralph Carmichael’s New Church Hymnal, 1976, the SBC’s Broadman Hymnal, 1940, and the BGC (“Swedish Baptists'”) Gospel Hymnal, 1950. It’s the tune traditionally associated with Ben Jonson’s courtship poem “Drink to me only with thine eyes”. Other tunes I see given with this hymn include GREEN HILL, LANDÃ…S, EVAN, THE THIRD TUNE, THIRD MODE, and SPOHR or JERUSALEM (Spohr), none of which is amongst those listed in the Cyber Hymnalâ„¢ (Hymn Time). But the most intriguing other setting I’ve seen, which we’ve sung to good effect at Fremont Baptist, is the “Shine on Me” adaptation, set to what strikes me as a variant on NEW BRITAIN, in the African American Heritage Hymnal, 2001 (#527), which gives the following text; any number of stanzas of Common Meter texts (or half-stanzas, like this, of CMD texts) can be added or substituted, mixed or matched to the occasion:
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest”.
Lay down,
Shine on me, Shine on me,
Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me.
Shine on me, Shine on me,
Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me.
With pitying eye the Prince of Peace
Beheld our helpless grief;
He saw, and O amazing love!
He came to our relief.
Shine on me, Shine on me,
Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me.
Shine on me, Shine on me,
Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me.
Keep up the good work! I look forward to looking backward on the whole 101!
Oops! when I cut and pasted it looks like part of the first verse of the “Shine on me” version disappeared. It should read, of course,
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and restâ€.
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon my breast. …
I truly love this hymn. And I love both tunes, but the tune VOX DILECTI is my favorite because it enhances the words.
Thanks for posting this one!
And your new look is great!
Interesting conversation about the various tunes used for Horatius Bonar’s beautiful hymn, “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.” The value of Vox Dilecti lies in its switch from a minor to a major key in the middle. When the person in need responds to Christ’s invitation, the major key lifts the whole mood. As noted by one correspondent, the tune for the old ballad “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” works well too. (That’s the one I’ve usually used when singing the song as a solo.)
As to the author of the hymn, today is the 120th anniversary of the death of Horatius Bonar. And there is a sad peculiarity about the many hymns he wrote. To find out what it is, check my blog for today. God bless.