A library of resources for funerals

O Happy Home Where Thou Art Loved The Dearest

Karl (Carl) Johann Philipp Spitta (1801-1859), Sarah Laurie Findlater (née Borthwick)(1823-1907)

O happy home where thou art loved the dearest,
thou loving Friend, and Saviour of our race,
and where among the guests there never cometh
one who can hold such high and honoured place!

O happy home, where two in heart united
in holy faith and blessèd hope are one,
whom death a little while alone divideth,
and cannot end the union here begun!

O happy home, whose little ones are given
early to thee, in humble faith and prayer,-
to thee, their Friend, who from the heights of heaven
dost guide and guard with more than mother's care!

O happy home, where each one serves thee, lowly,
whatever his appointed work may be,
till every common task seems great and holy,
when it is done, O Lord, as unto thee!

O happy home, where thou art not forgotten
when joy is overflowing, full and free:
O happy home, where every wounded spirit
is brought, Physician, Comforter, to thee:

Until at last, when earth's day's-work is ended,
all meet thee in the blessèd home above,
from whence thou camest, where thou hast ascended,
thy everlasting home of peace and love!

O Jesus I Have Promised

John Ernest Bode (1816 – 1874)

O Jesus I have promised
to serve thee to the end;
be thou for ever near me,
my master and my friend:
I shall not fear the battle
if thou art by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if thou wilt be my guide.

O let me feel thee near me:
the world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me and within;
but, Jesus, draw thou nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.

O let me hear thee speaking
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen,
thou guardian of my soul.

O Jesus, thou hast promised
to all who follow thee,
that where thou art in glory
there shall thy servant be;
and, Jesus, I have promised
to serve thee to the end:
O give me grace to follow,
my master and my friend.

O let me see thy foot-marks,
and in them plant mine own;
my hope to follow duly
is in thy strength alone:
O guide me, call me, draw me,
uphold me to the end;
and then in heaven receive me,
my Saviour and my friend

O Let The Son Of God Enfold You

O let the Son of God enfold you
with His Spirit and His love;
let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul.
O let Him have the things that hold you,
and His Spirit, like a dove,
will descend upon your life and make you whole.
Jesus, O Jesus,
come and fill Your lambs;
Jesus, O Jesus,
come and fill Your lambs.

O come and sing this song with gladness,
as your hearts are filled with joy;
lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name.
O give Him all your tears and sadness,
give Him all your years of pain,
and you'll enter into life in Jesus' name.
Chorus

O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee to-night.

O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth;
for Christ is born of Mary;
and, gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.

How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given!
so God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming;
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy
pray to the blessed Child,
where misery cries out to thee,
son of the mother mild;
where charity stands watching
and faith holds wide the door,
the dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
and Christmas comes once more.

O holy child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell:
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel.

O Lord all the world belongs to you

Patrick Robert Norman Appleford (born 1925)

O Lord all the world belongs to you,
And you are always making all things new,
What is wrong you forgive,
And the new life you give
Is what's turning the world upside-down.

The world's only loving to its friends,
But your way of loving never ends,
Loving enemies too;
And this loving with you
Is what's turning the world upside-down.

The world lives divided and apart;
You draw men together, and we start,
In your body to see
That in fellowship we
Can be turning the world upside-down.

The world wants the wealth to live in state,
But you show a new way to be great:
Like a servant you came,
And if we do the same,
We'll be turning the world upside-down.

O Lord, all the world belongs to you,
And you are always making all things new,
Send your Spirit on all
In your Church whom you call
To be turning the world upside-down.

O Lord My God! When I In Awesome Wonder

Stuart K Hine (1899-1989)

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;
Refrain

And when I think that God His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die-I scarce can take it in.
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:
Refrain

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home-what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!
Refrain

O Lord Of Life, Where'er They Be

Frederick L Hosmer (1840-1929)

O Lord of life, where'er they be,
Safe in thine own eternity,
Our dead are living unto thee.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

All souls are thine, and, here or there,
They rest within thy sheltering care;
One providence alike they share.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thy word is true, thy ways are just;
Above the requiem, 'Dust to dust',
Shall rise our psalm if grateful trust,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

O happy they in God who rest,
No more by fear and doubt oppressed;
Living or dying, they are blest:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

O Lord, To Whom The Spirits Live

O Lord, to whom the spirits live
Of all the faithful passed away,
Unto their path that brightness give
Which shineth to the perfect day:
O Lamb of God, Redeemer blest,
Grant them eternal light and rest.

Bless thou the dead that die in thee;
As thou hast given them release,
So quicken them thy face to see,
And give them everlasting peace:
Refrain

Direct us with thine arm of might,
And bring us, perfected with them,
To dwell within thy city bright,
The heavenly Jerusalem:
Refrain

How long, O Holy Lord, how long
must we and they expectant wait
To hear the gladsome bridal song,
To see Thee in Thy royal state?
Refrain

O hearken, Saviour, to their cry,
O rend the heavens and come down,
Make up thy jewels speedily,
And set them in Thy golden crown.
Refrain

Direct us with Thine arm of might,
And bring us, perfected with them,
To dwell within Thy city bright,
The heavenly Jerusalem.
Refrain

O Love Of God, How Strong And True

Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

O love of God, how strong and true, Eternal and yet ever new; Uncomprehended and unbought, Beyond all knowledge and all thought!

O heavenly love, how precious still, In days of weariness and ill, In nights of pain and helplessness, To heal, to comfort, and to bless.

O wide-embracing, wondrous love, We read thee in the sky above; We read thee in the earth below, In seas that swell and streams that flow.

We read thee best in him who came To bear for us the cross of shame, Sent by the Father from on high, Our life to live, our death to die.

We read thy power to bless and save E'en in the darkness of the grave; Still more in resurrection light We read the fullness of thy might.

O love of God, our shield and stay Through all the perils of our way; Eternal love, in thee we rest, For ever safe, for ever blest!

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

George Matheson (1842 – 1886)

O love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee:
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller, be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee:
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter, fairer be.

O joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee:
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain
that morn shall tearless be.

O cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee:
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red
life that shall endless be.

O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High!

Benjamin Webb (1819-1885) and others

O love, how deep, how broad, how high!
It fills the heart with ecstasy,
that God, the Son of God, should take
our mortal form for mortals' sake.

He sent no angel to our race
of higher or of lower place,
but wore the robe of human frame
himself, and to this lost world came.

For us he was baptized, and bore
his holy fast, and hungered sore;
for us temptations sharp he knew;
for us the tempter overthrew.

For us he prayed, for us he taught,
for us his daily works he wrought,
by words, and signs, and actions, thus
still seeking not himself but us.

For us to wicked men betrayed,
scourged, mocked, in purple robe arrayed,
he bore the shameful cross and death;
for us at length gave up his breath.

For us he rose from death again,
for us he went on high to reign,
for us he sent his Spirit here
to guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.

7To him whose boundless love has won
salvation for us through his Son,
to God the Father, glory be
both now and through eternity.

O My Saviour, Lifted

William W How (1823-1897)

O my Saviour, lifted
From the earth for me,
Draw me, in Thy mercy,
Nearer unto Thee.

Lift my earth-bound longings,
Fix them, Lord, above;
Draw me with the magnet
Of Thy mighty love.

Lord, Thine arms are stretching
Ever far and wide,
To enfold Thy children
To Thy loving side.

And I come, Lord Jesus:
Dare I turn away?
No! Thy love hath conquered,
And I come today;

Bringing all my burdens,
Sorrow, sin and care,
At Thy feet I lay them,
And I leave them there.

O Perfect Love, All Human Thought Transcending

Dorothy Frances Gurney (1858-1932)

O perfect Love, all human thought transcending,
Lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne,
That theirs may be the love which knows no ending
Whom thou for evermore dost join in one.

O perfect Life, be thou their full assurance
Of tender charity and steadfast faith,
Of patient hope, and quiet brave endurance,
With childlike trust that fears nor pain nor death.

Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow,
Grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife;
And to life's day the glorious unknown morrow
That dawns upon eternal love and life.

O Praise Ye The Lord

Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877)

O praise ye the Lord!
praise him in the height;
rejoice in his word
ye angels of light;
ye heavens adore him
by whom ye were made,
and worship before him
in brightness arrayed.

O praise ye the Lord!
praise him upon earth,
in tuneful accord,
ye sons of new birth;
praise him who hath brought you
his grace from above,
praise him who hath taught you
to sing of his love.

O praise ye the Lord,
all things that give sound;
each jubilant chord
re-echo around;
loud organs, his glory
forth tell in deep tone,
and, sweet harp, the story
of what he hath done.

O praise ye the Lord!
thanksgiving and song
to him be outpoured
all ages along;
for love in creation,
for heaven restored,
for grace of salvation,
O praise ye the Lord!

O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded

Robert Seymour Bridges (1844-1930)

O sacred head, sore wounded,
Defiled and put to scorn;
O kingly head, surrounded
With mocking crown of thorn:
What sorrow mars thy grandeur?
Can death thy bloom deflower?
O countenance whose splendour
The hosts of heaven adore!

Thy beauty, long-desirèd,
Hath vanished from our sight;
Thy power is all expirèd,
And quenched the light of light.
Ah me! for whom thou diest,
Hide not so far thy grace:
Show me, O Love most highest,
The brightness of thy face.

I pray thee, Jesus, own me,
Me, Shepherd good, for thine;
Who to thy fold hast won me,
And fed with truth divine.
Me guilty, me refuse not,
Incline thy face to me,
This comfort that I lose not,
On earth to comfort thee.

In thy most bitter passion
My heart to share doth cry,
With thee for my salvation
Upon the cross to die.
Ah, keep my heart thus movèd
To stand thy cross beneath,
To mourn thee, well-belovèd,
Yet thank thee for thy death.

My days are few, O fail not,
With thine immortal power,
To hold me that I quail not
In death's most fearful hour:
That I may fight befriended,
And see in my last strife
To me thine arms extended
Upon the cross of life.

O Sacred Heart, our home lies deep in thee

Francis Stanfield (1835-1914)

O Sacred Heart,
Our home lies deep in thee;
On earth thou art an exile's rest,
In heav'n the glory of the blest,
O Sacred Heart.

O Sacred Heart,
Thou fount of contrite tears;
Where'er those living waters flow,
New life to sinners they bestow,
O Sacred Heart.

O Sacred Heart,
Bless our dear native land;
May England's sons in truth e'er stand,
With faith's bright banner still in hand,
O Sacred Heart.

O Sacred Heart,
Our trust is all in thee;
For though earth's night be dark and drear,
Thou breathest rest where thou art near,
O Sacred Heart.

O Sacred Heart,
When shades of death shall fall,
Receive us 'neath thy gentle care,
And save us from the tempter's snare,
O Sacred Heart.

O Sacred Heart,
Lead exiled children home,
Where we may ever rest near thee,
In peace and joy eternally,
O Sacred Heart.

O saving victim, opening wide

Verbum supernum prodiens nec Patris, Thomas Aquinas (1227-1274) translated by John M Neale (1818-1866) and Edward Caswall (1814-1878)

O saving victim, opening wide
The gate of heaven to man below,
Our foes press hard on every side:
Thine aid supply, thy strength bestow.

All praise and thanks to thee ascend
For evermore, blest One in Three;
O grant us life that shall not end
In our true native land with thee.

O Strength And Stay Upholding All Creation

John Ellerton (1826-93) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-1892)

O strength and stay upholding all creation
who ever dost thyslf unmoved abide,
yet day by day the light in due gradation
from hour to hour through all its changes guide;

grant to life's day a calm unclouded ending,
an eve untouched by shadows of decay,
the brightness of a holy death-bed blending
with dawning glories of the eternal day.

Hear us, O Father, gracious and forgiving,
through Jesus Christ thy co-eternal Word,
who with the Holy Ghost by all things living
now and to endless ages art adored.

O The Bitter Shame And Sorrow

Theodore Monod (1836-1921)

O the bitter shame and sorrow,
that a time could ever be
when I let the Saviour's pity
plead in vain, and proudly answered:
'all of self, and none of thee'.

Yet he found me. I beheld him
bleeding on the accursèd tree,
heard him pray: Forgive them, Father!
and my sinful heart said faintly:
'some of self, and some of thee!'

Day by day his tender mercy,
healing, helping, full and free,
sweet and strong, and, ah! so patient,
brought me lower, while I whispered:
'less of self, and more of thee!'

Higher than the highest heaven,
deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, thy love at last hath conquered;
grant me now my supplication:
'none of self, and all of thee!'

O Thou Who Camest From Above

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

O thou who camest from above
The pure celestial fire to impart,
Kindle a flame of sacred love
On the mean altar of my heart!

There let it for thy glory burn
With inextinguishable blaze,
And trembling to its source return,
In humble prayer and fervent praise.

Jesus, confirm my heart's desire
To work, and speak, and think for thee;
Still let me guard the holy fire,
And still stir up thy gift in me-

Ready for all thy perfect will,
My acts of faith and love repeat,
Till death thy endless mercies seal,
And make the sacrifice complete.

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