Bible Songs — Scriptures, Law, Sabbath

Ask for the Guide Book

Ask for the Guide Book, the Bible from heav'n;

No. 1309
Tune ASK FOR THE GUIDE BOOK.
Words F. E. B.
Music F. E. Belden.
Key B-flat major
Singing key B♭ major
Time 4/4
4 stanzas

Words

Ask for the Guide Book, the Bible from heav'n;For our salvation its pages were giv'n;If of a truth you are seeking the way,Ask for the Guide Book, believe, and obey.

Chorus.

Ask for the Guide Book, search the blessed Guide Book;Read it, heed it, on your upward way;Ask for the Guide Book, search the blessed Guide Book;Read your Bible every day.

Heed not the voices that bid you remain,Heed not the false guides who seek only gain;Ask for the Guide Book,—its teachings are true,—Heeding it daily will carry you through.

Thousands are trav'ling in death's downward way;Few walk the path that is narrow to-day:One ends in darkness, and one ends in light,—One is the wrong way, and one is the right.

Though you may teach that the Saviour has died,Claim to be just, and appear sanctified,—Still, if the law of the Lord you deny,"Vain your profession," the Lord will reply.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: hymn number «1309» (large) at the left, title «ASK FOR THE GUIDE BOOK.» centred (capitals and small capitals); under it the Scripture epigraph (given below) running over two lines, the second line «truth."—John 16 : 13 ; 17 : 17.» centred, with three widely spaced asterisks marking the omission between the two verses; «F. E. B.» (the words) at the left and «F. E. BELDEN.» (the music) at the right above system 1, both in capitals and small capitals; «CHORUS.» in bold capitals above system 3; «Copyrighted 1886 by F. E. Belden.» centred under system 4, folio «520» below it. No meter, no tune name other than the title, no reference line, no running head. The four stanzas are interlinear under the melody staff of systems 1–2, numbered «1.»–«4.» in system 1 only (the «3.» is filled in and looks like «8.»); the CHORUS is printed once, between the two staves of systems 3–4, and is sung after every stanza. Each printed line of words carries two verse lines; they are given here one verse line per line. Words divided under the notes are joined («Bi-ble», «sal-va-tion», «pa-ges», «voi-ces», «nar-row», «Sav-iour», «ap-pear», «sanc-ti-fied», «seek-ing», «be-lieve», «o-bey», «dai-ly», «dark-ness», «de-ny», «re-ply», «Bi-ble», «ev-ery»); «to - day» is joined as «to-day», the book's spelling of the word. In the chorus «blessed» is printed whole in the first line and divided «bless-ed» in the second; both are «blessed» here (the score sings both on two notes). The thin space the print sets before «;» and «:» is closed up; quotation marks and apostrophes are written straight («heav'n», «giv'n», «trav'ling», «death's»). Spelling («Saviour», «trav'ling»), capitals and punctuation — the dashes «,—» included — are the print's.