Adventist Pioneer Library

Bible Songs — Scriptures, Law, Sabbath

Stand by the law once proclaimed from Sinai

  • No. 1302
  • Tune Hold to the Helm
  • Words F. E. Belden.
  • 5 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

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1

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."—Ps. 19:7.

2

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."—Matt. 5:17-19.

3

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."—1 John 3:4.

4

"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."—Rom. 7:12.

5

"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."—Rom. 3:31.

6

"It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law."—Ps. 119:126.

7

"Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men."—Mark 7:7, 8.

8

"O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. * * * They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word; * * whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken."—Eze. 13:4-8.

9

"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."—Isa. 8:20.

10

MUSIC—"HOLD TO THE HELM."

1

Stand by the law once proclaimed from Sinai;Some its teachings and its force deny:What says the Saviour? now hearken and obey,—"Not one jot or tittle shall pass away."

Refrain

Chorus:Stand by the law, stand by the law:Jesus the law did magnify;Stand by the law if you hope to enter heaven;The law proves us sinners; through Christ we 're forgiven.

2

Ten are its precepts,—consider them again,—Love to God, and love to fellow-men:Four point to God and the duty that we owe,And six, our relation to mortals show.

3

Since by the law we are sinners proved to be,Christ has died that we may all be free:Free from the death which the broken law demands,But not from obedience to its commands.

4

Now if the law was unknown till Sinai,All were righteous who before did die!And, if its precepts by Christ were done away,There lives not a sinner on earth to-day!

5

All yearly sabbaths, and offerings the same,Lost their meaning when the Saviour came;But kill the law, and the devil goes to heaven!No need of a Saviour, or sins forgiven!

16

These words (which appear by special request) were written during the speech of an Antinomian minister, when the subject of the law was being discussed publicly, and sung with good effect at the close of the meeting. Although the last stanza is a conclusion truthfully drawn from the arguments of those who endeavor to show that God's law is no longer binding, yet it is designed to be sung only on occasions when it will be most effectual to present the absurdity of the no-law theory, and it is hoped that no offense will be taken at the expressions of truth which these lines contain.

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed on p. 513 (PDF 514), below the last two systems of hymn 1301 («HOLD TO THE HELM.—Concluded.»): hymn number «1302» (large, left) and the heading «STAND BY THE LAW.» centred (condensed capitals with larger initials). Under the heading, nine Scripture texts set as prose, each its own paragraph with its reference after a dash (below, and as `epigraphs` in the frontmatter); «command- / ments» (Matt. 5) is broken by the line end and joined here, and the clause «they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word;» (Eze. 13) is in italics. Then, centred, the reference line «MUSIC—"HOLD TO THE HELM."» (bold capitals): the hymn is sung to the tune of hymn 1301, HOLD TO THE HELM (PDF 513–514). Five stanzas of four lines in two columns (1–2 left, 3–5 right), numbered «1»–«5» without a period (numbered «1.» etc. here), with «CHORUS:» (capitals and small capitals, with a colon) and its four lines printed once, after stanza 1; it is sung after every stanza. The first word «STAND» is in capitals and small capitals («Stand» here). Long lines broken by the column width are joined here: «from / Sinai;», «and / obey,—», «Christ / we 're forgiven.», «law / demands,». Italics as printed: Four, six (st. 2), death, obedience (st. 3), law, devil (st. 5). «F. E. Belden.» in italics at the right after stanza 5. «we 're» is set with a space before the apostrophe and kept so; «sabbaths» has a small s. «staud» (chorus, line 1) and «doue» (st. 4, line 3) are printed with a turned «n» and are kept as printed (printer's slips, see `uncertainties.md`). A footnote in small type closes the page (below, under its own heading; it is the editor's note, not part of the hymn). The print sets a thin space before «;», «:», «!» and «?»; it is closed up here; quotation marks and apostrophes are written straight. The printer's signature «33» (bottom left) and the folio «513» are not transcribed. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
Bible Songs — Scriptures, Law, Sabbath · No. 1302 · printed page 513
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-06