O the Beautiful Treasure

This is a hymn about the treasure provided by God. It is sometimes called "The Beautiful Treasures of Heaven".

The author and composer are unknown: is attributed as a Shaker gift song from 1849. Since then, there have been many recordings and arrangements of the song: there are many variations in the arrangement and pattern / repetitions of the first line in each verse.

As a Shaker song, today it would be performed as a unison song, likely unaccompanied. However a number of choral arrangements and have been created more recently - some of these are linked below.

Recent hymn-books which it has been published in include:

The Gift to Be Simple- compiled by Edward Demming Andrews in 1940

although it is very likely to have been included in earlier Shaker collections as well.

Downloads

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Lead sheet (melody + guitar chords)

PowerPoint slides

SATB choir arrangement

Examples

Singer self-accompaneid on a harp:

Singer with guitar? / band?

Lyrics

O the beautiful treasure laid up for the wise,
How precious the value, how glorious the prize.
Far brighter than riches on princes’ brow,
And richer than royalty can bestow.
O the beautiful treasure laid up for the wise,
How precious the value, how glorious the prize.

O the beautiful treasure provided by God,
And promised to good people who follow the word;
And streams of sweet mercy shall bring them home
To rest from the sorrowful paths they roam.
O the beautiful treasure provided by God
And promised to good people who follow the word.