Worship — Holy Scriptures
I love the sacred book of God
- No. 171
- Metre L. M.
- Tune HAMBURG.
- Words Thomas Kelly.
- Music Gregorian, arr. by Lowell Mason.
- Key F major
- Time 4/4
- 5 stanzas
Words
⤢ Full screenI love the sacred book of God,
No other can its place supply;
It points me to the saints' abode,
And bids me from destruction fly.
Sweet book! in thee my eyes discern
The image of my absent Lord;
From thy instructive page I learn
The joys his presence will afford.
But while I 'm here, thou shalt supply
His place, and tell me of his love;
I 'll read with faith's discerning eye,
And thus partake of joys above.
Within thy sacred lids is found
A transcript of my Maker's will;
Treasures of knowledge here abound,
The deepest, loftiest mind to fill.
Light of the world, thy beams impart,
To lead my feet through life's dark way;
O, shine on this benighted heart,
Nor let me from thy guidance stray.
About this hymn
As printed As printed: running head «WORSHIP—HOLY SCRIPTURES.»; hymn number «171» (large), tune name «HAMBURG.» centred over the music followed by «L, M.» (the mark after the L has the tail of a comma; the book's usual form is «L. M.»), «Gregorian, arr. by Lowell Mason.» at the right (capitals and small capitals). Stanza 1 is interlinear, between the staves, one line per system, with «1.» before «I». Stanzas 2–5 are printed as text in the left column below the music, under the reference line «168, 215, 343.» in italics (= may also be sung to the tunes of hymns 168, 215 or 343). «Thomas Kelly.» in italics after stanza 5. Lines 2 and 4 of each text stanza are indented in the print. The print sets a thin space before «!» and «;» («book !», «Lord ;», «love ;», «will ;», «way ;»); it is closed up here. «I 'm» and «I 'll» (stanza 3) are set with a space before the apostrophe and are kept so (as in HT_0026, HT_0077, HT_0100, HT_0122). Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.
- Source
- The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
- Where
- Worship — Holy Scriptures · No. 171 · printed page 61
- Checked
- score verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-09-30
