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CHRISTIAN LIFE SDA HYMNAL (1985)

SDAH 517: My Faith Looks Up to Thee

CHRISTIAN LIFE >> FAITH & TRUST

SDAH 517

My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine;
Now hear me while I pray,

Text
Text

1
My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine;
Now hear me while I pray,
take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day
be wholly Thine.

2
May thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire!
As thou hast died for me,
O may my love to thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire!

3
While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from Thee aside.

Hymn Info
Hymn Info


Biblical Reference
(a) Ps 61:1 (b) Heb 12:28 (c) Ps 48:14; Rev 21:4

Author
Ray Palmer (1808-1887)

Year Published
1830

Hymn Tune
OLIVET

Metrical Number
6.6.4.6.6.6.4.

Composer
Lowell Mason (1792-1872)

Year Composed
1832

Hymn Score

Piano Accompaniment

Notes

Get to know the hymns a little deeper with the SDA Hymnal Companion. Use our song leader’s notes to engage your congregation in singing with understanding. Even better, involve kids in learning this hymn with our homeschooling materials.

Jesus is the Lamb of Calvary. He is the fulfilment of the promised Messiah who will come to save His people from their sin. It is when we look to Him in faith that we find our salvation. (Lesson 5, 2nd Quarter, Monday, The Messianic Promise: Part 1, 4/26/2021)

It is by looking to Jesus that our love for God is quickened. And it is by fixing our eyes on Jesus that our love for God is made strong. So it is with our faith. Our faith in God is made stronger each day if our faith is looking to Jesus. (Lesson 6, 2nd Quarter 2021 -Tuesday, Israel and the Covenant, 5/04/2021)

This hymn was the first one written by Ray Palmer (1808-1887; see SDAH 242), in the year 1830. It was for his personal benefit, as an expression of his own faith. He said of the hymn, “I gave form to what I felt by writing, with little effort, the stanzas. I recollect I wrote them with very tender emotion and ended the last line with tears.” The original had four stanzas. In brief, the petition in the four stanzas ate: hear me, strengthen me, guide me save me. 

Palmer carried the poem about with him in his pocketbook for some time. When asked by Lowell Mason (1792-1872; see Biographies), if he had anything to contribute to a new compilation, Palmer produced the four stanzas of this hymn. Mason soon composed the tune OLIVET, which has been associated with the words ever since. In 1831 Mason published the complete hymn in Spiritual Songs for Social Worship, compiled by himself and Thomas Hastings (see SDAH 300). Time has proved true Mason’s prediction that Palmer might live long and do many good things but would best be remembered as the author of “My Faith Looks Up to Thee.”

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