Adventist Pioneer Library

Worship — The Sabbath

Delightful day, best gift of heaven

  • No. 213
  • Words R. F. Cottrell.
  • 6 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

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1

Delightful day, best gift of heaven,
By man in Eden first possessed;
Jehovah's rest-day, kindly given
That all his creatures might be blessed.

2

Memorial of creation's King,
We welcome now thy glad return;
And while his praise we join to sing,
Our hearts with love and rapture burn.

3

We bless thy name, almighty Lord,
We love the keepsake thou hast given;
Our voices raise with one accord
In honor of the King of heaven.

4

All praise to Jesus, by whose blood
We are redeemed from sin and death;
Give glory to the Son of God,—
Praise him all creatures that have breath.

5

By sin we are exposed to wrath;
He died for us, that he might draw
Our wandering feet to virtue's path,
Where we may keep God's holy law.

6

That law shall still be our delight,—
The holy Sabbath is a part,—
And when we gain that world so bright,
All flesh shall keep it with one heart.

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «213» (large) with the reference line «215, 343, 47.» in italics beside it (sing to the tune of hymn 215, 343 or 47); stanzas 1–4 at the foot of the left column of p. 72, below hymn 212, stanzas 5–6 at the top of the right column, «R. F. Cottrell.» in italics after stanza 6 (the two-column page is read left column first: hymn 212 closes with «Anon.» in the left column, and the numbering 5, 6 continues this hymn). The first word «DELIGHTFUL» is set in capitals and small capitals. The print sets a thin space before «;» («possessed ;», «return ;», «given ;», «death ;», «wrath ;»); it is closed up here. «rest-day» is hyphenated inside the line. The printer's curly apostrophe is written straight. Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented in the print. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's. No meter is printed (the text is L. M., 8.8.8.8).

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
Worship — The Sabbath · No. 213 · printed page 72
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-09-30