All Gracious God’s Light!
Text: John A. Dalles
Tune: Hanover - "O Worship the King"

All gracious God’s Light, sheer brightness that shines
Unending delight, unto us inclines!
Lord, shine in our lives, pure and dazzling and best!
Shine Jesus most holy! Shine Jesus most blessed!

We sing of the light God’s glory proclaims,
Of holy delight in Christ Jesus’ name,
From morning’s awaking through all the day long,
Till sunset and nighttime, to God we belong!

O Christ, Son of God, O Giver of days,
You, Jesus, are worthy at all times of praise;
So sing, happy voices! Sing unto the Lord,
O come glorify Him throughout the whole world!

All praise unto God! All praise to the Son!
To Spirit sing praise, to God, Three in One!
Sing praise from the dawning unto vesper rays,
Forever, forever O give God all praise!


(After two ancient hymns, “The Phos Hilaron” and "The Eventide Hymn" or "The Hymn for the Lighting of the Lamps”).


Copyright © 2024, John A. Dalles

God, Renew Us by Your Spirit!

God, Renew Us by Your Spirit!
Nurturing and Renewing

Text: John A. Dalles
Tune: RESTORATION
Meter: 8787 with Refrain


God. renew us by Your Spirit!
Come in gladness, hearts console!
Grant us joy so we may share it!
Oh, restore us; make us whole!

God, revitalize our mission!
Bless Your church from pole to pole!
May we overcome division!
Oh, restore us; make us whole!

God, revive each congregation!
Be our center and our goal!
Help us join in adoration!
O restore us; make us whole!

God, refresh your whole creation!
Timeless is salvation’s role!
Grant us boundless celebration!
God, restore us; make us whole!


(Appears as Selection #604 in The Covenant Hymnal)

Copyright © 1992, John A. Dalles

Available for one-time use in worship, according to the above guidelines.

Please let me know if you use this hymn!

O Seek the Lord in Prayer

O Seek the Lord in Prayer
Healing in Affliction

Text: John A. Dalles
Tune: MARION
Meter: S.M. with refrain


O seek the Lord in prayer
And fall down at Christ’s feet,
As two or three are gathered there
Entreaties shall Christ meet!
Be whole! Be well! Be holy in the Lord!

Though we were reckoned lost
And numbered with the dead,
Christ came to suffer on the cross
To grant us life, instead!
Be whole! Be well! Be holy in the Lord!

The touch of Christ brings strength,
Makes well and makes alive;
All who are languishing in pain,
Christ ventures to revive!
Be whole! Be well! Be holy in the Lord!

Be calm and do not fear;
Be thoroughly restored!
May joy replace each anguished tear:
The joy of Christ the Lord!
Be whole! Be well! Be holy in the Lord!


This appears as selection # 478 in The Covenant Hymnal


Copyright © 1993, John A. Dalles

Available for one-time use in worship with this copyright notice,

according to the guidelines listed above.

Please let me know if you use this hymn!

John A. Dalles Hymn Texts in Print

Among the published hymn texts of John A. Dalles, are these...

HYMN TEXTS IN DENOMINATIONAL HYMNALS:

The Presbyterian Hymnal (two hymns)
Presbyterian Church USA, 1990; ISBN 0664101100
#127 "Come, O Spirit!" BOUNDLESS MERCY (or DIADEMATA)
#418 "God, Bless Your Church With Strength!" ICH HALTE TRULICH STILL (or ST KEVIN)
c.f. The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion; LindaJo McKim, editor, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993. ISBN 0664251803

The New Century Hymnal (two hymns)
United Church of Christ, 1995; ISBN 0-8298-1050-1
#265 "Come, O Spirit!" BOUNDLESS MERCY
#586 "Come to Tend God's Garden!" KINGS WESTON

The Moravian Book of Worship (four hymns)
Moravian Church in America, 1995; ISBN 1-878422-16-2
#389 "All Who Have Gone Before Us" WIR PFLUGEN
#443 "May God's Love Be Fixed Above You!" LAUDA ANIMA
#632 "God, Renew Us By Your Spirit" RESTORATION
#665 "Bless All Those Who Nurture Children" HYMN TO JOY

Worship Together (three hymns)
Mennonite Brethren Churches, 1995;
#231 "Love Has Come In Christ" TRYGGARE KAN INGEN VARA
#410 "Come, O Spirit, with Your Sound" ST. KEVIN
#676 "O God of Love, Grant Us Your Peace" KINGSFOLD

The Covenant Hymnal (eight hymns)
Evangelical Covenant Church, 1996; ISBN 0-9104-5280-6
#274 "Come, O Spirit" BOUNDLESS MERCY
#478 "O Seek the Lord in Prayer" MARION
#543 "As Christ the Little Children Blessed" CHRISTMAS CANDLES
#580 "God Bless Your Church With Strength!" DIADEMATA
#604 "God, Renew Us By Your Spirit!" RESTORATION
#607 "Change Your Church, O God" ST. GEORGE'S WINDSOR
#618 "Bless the Ones Who Nurture Children" PROMISE
#669 "May God's Love Be Fixed Above You" PRAISE MY SOUL

The Book of Praise (three hymns)
Presbyterian Church in Canada, 1997
#233 "Come, O Spirit, with Your Sound!" BOUNDLESS MERCY
#251 "God Bless Your Church with Strength!" ICH HALTE TRULICH STILL
#435 "May God's Love Be Fixed Above You!" TANTUM ERGO
c.f. Sampler for General Assembly, June 1996

The Australian Book of Praise II (one hymn)
# 694 "The Scream of Police Cars' Sirens" MUNICH

HYMN TEXTS IN OTHER BOOKS, HYMNALS AND ANTHOLOGIES (a partial listing):

Living Liturgy: Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis for Sundays and Solemnities (Year C)
By Thomas A. Greisen, Kathleen Harmon, Joyce Ann Zimmerman, Thomas L. Leclerc
Liturgical Press (2006); ISBN 0814627447
"We Blew No Trumpet Blasts" (quoted in part)

Celebrating the Eucharist: Sacred Song 2005
Liturgical Press, Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville MN 56321
#583" Come O Spirit"

Sing to the Lord No Threadbare Song: New Hymntunes of Alfred Fedak
By Alfred Fedak
Selah Publishing Co. (2001)
#24 "Vain Our Lives and Small Our Strivings"

Teach Our Hearts to Sing Your Prasie: Hymns Tunes and Carols
By Randall Sensimeier
GIA Publications, Inc. (2001); ISBN 1-57999-157-2
"All People Join to Sing One Song"
"Because Christ Lives"
"Though We May Speak in Tonges of Earth and Angels"
"May God's Love be Fixed Above You"
"Come to Tend God's Garden"

Is It a Lost Cause?: Having the Heart of God for the Church's Children
By Marva J. Dawn
Wm. B. EerdmansPublishing (1997); ISBN 0802843735
"Bless the Ones Who Nurture Children"

Daniel: 26 Fun-Filled Learning Activities on Bible Characters
By Phyllis Vos Wezeman, Judith Harris Chase, Anna Leichty
Kregel Publications (1998); ISBN 0825439639
"Blessed Be Your Holy Name, O God"

Esther: Twenty-Six Learning Activities for Children
By Phyllis Vos Wezeman
Kregel Publications (1998); ISBN 0825439612
"God, Could It Be?"

Peter: Twenty-Six Learning Activities for Children
By Phyllis Vos Wezeman, Judith Harris Chase, Anna Leichty
Kregel Publications (1998); ISBN 0825439620
"When Life's Storms are Too Insistent!"

Sing Justice Do Justice!
Selah Publishing Co., Inc, Pittsburgh, PA, 1989
"O Justice Giver, Make Us Just!"

New Songs of Rejoicing
Selah Publishing Company, 1994
#145 "Vain Our Lives and Small Our Strivings"

Singing for Peace
Hope Publishing Company, Nancy Rosenberger Faus, editor, 1986
#18 "O God of Love, Grant Us Your Peace"

Celebrating Holy Week
Educational Ministries Inc, Henry Rust, editor, 1993
"If You Will Be My Followers Now"
"When Trials Encompass You"
"Now, The Betrayer"
"We Heard Christ Say 'I Will'"
"It Was the Choice of Pilate"
"They Brought Jesus to Golgotha"
"The Lord Appealed Mid-Afternoon"

Hymn Stories for Children: The Lord's Prayer
Kregle Publishing, Phyllis Wezeman, 1996
"Command Us What You Will, O Lord"
"Rule, Loving God"

Hymn Stories for Children: The Ten Commandments
Kregle Publishing, Phyllis Wezeman, 1996

HYMN TEXTS IN BOOKS DEVOTED TO THE WORK OF JOHN A. DALLES ONLY:

Swift Currents and Still Waters: 65 Hymn Texts
By John A. Dalles
GIA Publications (2000); ISBN 1-57000-095-9

Come O Spirit: 52 Hymn Texts for Today's Worship
By John Dalles
Educational Ministries, Inc. (1992) (Out of Print); ISBN 1-877871-40-0
Contains 52 of the earliest hymns of John A. Dalles. You might find this on line.

Introduced in July of 2010.

We Turn To God: 53 New Hymns for Worship

by John A. Dalles

Wayne Leupold Editions (2010); ISBN 978-1-881162-36-0

A collection of many never before published hymns.

God Is the Singer's Friend: 52 New Hymns for Worship

A second collection of John Dalles hymns from Wayne Leupold, published in 2013. 

John Dalles Hymn Texts Set as Anthems...

Several hymn texts by John Dalles have been set as anthems for choirs:

With Bob Moore:

- "O God Behold Your Family Here" an anthem for Thanksgiving. Text by John Dalles, music by Bob Moore. For Voices: SATB. Instruments: B trumpet, Bass (instruments required). Piano. Choral Sacred. Level: easy. 14 pages. Published by GIA Publications. (G-5588). To preview:

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_inside.html?cart=338549249712900713&item=4615457&page=01

- "Make Music for Your Lord to Hear" an anthem for music-related celebrations. Text by John Dalles, music by Bob Moore. For Voices: SATB. Instruments: Horn in F, bass (instruments optional). Piano. Choral Sacred. Level: easy. 10 pages. Published by GIA Publications. (G-6075)

Both set to music by composer Bob Moore, director of music ministry for the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine (Florida). Both are featured on GIA's CD "Like a Whisper in the Heart". http://www.giamusic.com/scstore/P-558.cfm

* * *

With John Ferguson:

- "Easter Proclamation" Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Choral Music Series. Choir, brass and organ in a triumphant dialog. Text by John A. Dalles, SATB, organ, brass quartet (14-E) G-6172 $1.60. Music by composer John Ferguson, Elliot and Klara Stockdal Johnson Professor of Organ and Church Music and Cantor to the student congregation at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. The anthem is featured on GIA Publications' CD "Hidden in Humbleness", recorded at St. Olaf College, home of one of the most respected church music programs in the country. http://www.giamusic.com/scstore/P-594.cfm

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Book of 65 John A. Dalles Hymn Texts with Music

Also from GIA:

- Swift Currents and Still Waters by John A. Dalles, is a remarkable compilation of hymns that are fresh and inspirational. This book contains 65 hymn texts by John Dalles, including some of his best-known hymns: "Come O Spirit" (for Pentecost), "Bless the Ones Who Nurture Children" (for Teacher Dedication) and "God Bless Your Church with Strength" (An Anniversary Celebration Hymn), as well as multiple detailed indexes including: Liturgical, Topical, Metrical, Tune, First Lines and Common Titles.

http://www.giamusic.com/scstore/P-5366.cfm

For more about these, visit http://www.giamusic.com/

* * *

With Donna J. Butler:

- "Celebrate the Lord" By Donna Butler. Arranged by Donna Butler. Text: John Dalles ("Celebrate the Journey"). For Keyboard accompaniment. (SATB). Sacred. Level: Medium Adult. 12 pages. Duration 3 min, 25 sec. Published by Hinshaw Music Inc. Item No.: HMC1957 (This piece is energized by a consistent rhythmic drive and is perfect for celebrating the past, present and future. Excellent for Reformation Sunday or any celebration).

Preview page: http://hinshawmusic.com/pdf/HMC1957.pdf

- "God of Wonder" Composer, Butler, Donna J. MorningStar Music. Product Number 50-9096; Price $1.75; Voicing: SATB, Keyboard. Difficulty: Medium. Exuberant message in celebrative musical setting. Especially suitable for events focusing on the vision of a church. Composite text edited by Donna Butler, combining hymn texts by Jane Parker Huber and John A. Dalles. [94] SATB and Keyboard. M F-98

For more information:
http://www.morningstarmusic.com/viewitem.cfm/item_id/50-9096

(Donna J. Butler Douglas has served as Director of Music Ministry at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church of Overland Park, Kansas since January, 2002).

* * *

With Glenn Rudolph:

- "You Know the Way" (2002) Publisher: Oxford University Press, Inc. (2003) Catalog No: ISBN 0-19-386744-3. Anthem for SATB choir and organ, text by John A. Dalles, music by Glenn Rudolph. Based on John 14:1-7. Commissioned in memory of Marilyn D. Carroll, longtime member of Parkwood Presbyterian Church choir, Allison Park, PA.

Not yet published...

- “Draw Near in Peace,” an anthem for Palm Sunday. Anthem for SATB choir, string quartet and organ on a new text by John A. Dalles. Commissioned by the Worthington Presbyterian Church, Worthington, OH. Premiered Palm Sunday, April 1, 2007.

- “Christ the Branch of Jesse’s Tree,” a hymn for Palm Sunday.

Both are by composer Glenn Rudolph, Choir Director at Beaver United Methodist Church in Beaver, PA., with text by John Dalles, commissioned for the Palm Sunday, April 1, 2007 celebration in honor of the ministry of Dr. Phil Hazelton, at the Worthington Presbyterian Church (OH).

You may listen to them at the church's website: http://www.worthingtonpres.com/wpc/wpc.nsf/vwsubpages/Anthem+Details?open

Also by Glenn Rudolph and John Dalles...

- "I Came from Light" for chorus and electronic soundscape, commissioned by the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh in celebration of their 70th anniversary. "I Came from Light" uses a new text by John A. Dalles and an electronic soundscape composed entirely of sounds produced by virtual instruments. Premiered December 13-14, 2003.

Glenn Rudolph has audio samples of these and other works with John Dalles at:

http://www.reindeermusic.com/documents/56.html

* * *

With Dorothy J. Frisch (coming soon!)

"O God, Our Lives are Parched and Dry"

Voicing: SATB; from GIA Publications, Inc

(for a sample of the text, see below)

* * *

Thanks for visiting!

Some Work Today is Mine!

Some Work Today is Mine!

A Simple Hymn of Dedication

Text: John A. Dalles
Tune: ST CECILIA
Meter: SM

Some work today is mine,
A work for God to do,
God be in the design,
God make it good and true!

Some word today is mine,
A word of God’s to share,
God, make my message fine,
Filled with Your grace and care!

Some prayer today is mine,
A prayer for those in need,
I know God will incline
And offer help, indeed!

Some song today is mine,
A song that I may sing,
To cast the clouds away,
God’s hope and peace to bring!

A word and work, maybe;
Perhaps a song, a prayer;
Some gift that God gave me;
A gift I am to share!


Copyright © John A. Dalles, 2024.

Permission granted for one time use in worship as noted above.

Please let me know if you use this hymn text.

O Lifter of Downhearted Souls!

O Lifter of Downhearted Souls!

Text: John A. Dalles
Tune: ST JAMES
Meter: CM

O Lifter of downhearted souls,
We bring our prayer to You,
That You might make the wounded whole
And grant us life anew!

O Savior of humanity,
Who bore our sins alone,
Whose death is life, who sets us free,
Come, make us all Your own!

Dear Prince of wisdom, Source of joy,
Good Shepherd of the sheep,
Your mercy and Your love, employ,
Our souls to guard and keep!

O Guiding hand along life’s way,
O Fisherman of all,
Help us to greet You, here this day,
And answer when You call!

Great Cultivator of all life,
Good Guardian of desires,
O send Your Spirit, ending strife,
With cleansing tongues of fires!

Copyright © John A. Dalles, 2024.

Permission granted for one time use in worship as noted above.

Please let me know if you use this hymn text.