O God thy People Gather

This is a gathering hymn.  The books it was included in suggest that it was written during the late 1960s, as is one of the early English-language hymns created when Roman Catholic services were allowed to start to using local languages.

It was written by English Roman Catholic (Jesuit) priest Anthony Nye SJ (b 1932).   Copyright is now listed as owned by the Trustees of Rev Clifford Howell SJ, London.

Hymn-books which it has been published in include:

• Peoople's Mass Book, 1966 Chapman
• Catholic Hymn Book, Nigeria, 1976
• Hymns Old and New with Supplement, 1989 - but not later editions
• Celebration Hymnal for Everyone, 1994 and 2012, McCrimmon Publications - this is still in print and is the best source of the hymn now.

With meter 76 76 D, tunes it has been set to include:

• AURELIA by English organist and composer Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876)
• CRÜGER by German theologian and musician Johann Crüger (1598-1662)

Downloads

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PowerPoint slides

Examples

Choir with organ:

Instrumental - organ, tune AURELIA

Instrumental - piano, tune AURELIA

Instrumental - tune CRÜGER

Instrumental - organ. Tune CRÜGER

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website. A rough outline is:

O God, thy people gather,
Obedient to thy word,
Around thy holy altar
To praise thy name, O Lord;
For all thy loving kindness
Our grateful hearts we raise;
But pardon first the blindness
Of all our sinful ways.

Thou art our loving Father,
Thou art our holiest Lord,
But we have sinned against thee
by thoughts and deed and word.
Before the court of heaven
we stand and humbly pray
our sins may be forgiven,
Our faults be washed away.

Though sinful, we implore thee
To turn and make us live;
That so we may adore thee,
and our due offering give;
And the prayers and voices
of thy glad people rise,
As thy whole Church rejoices
In this great sacrifice.

See more ...

• Gathering hymns
• ymns about obedience

O God, thy people gather,
Obedient to thy word,
Around thy holy altar
To praise thy name, O Lord;
For all thy loving kindness
Our grateful hearts we raise;
But pardon first the blindness
Of all our sinful ways.

Thou art our loving Father,
Thou art our holiest Lord,
But we have sinned against thee
by thoughts and deed and word.
Before the court of heaven
we stand and humbly pray
our sins may be forgiven,
Our faults be washed away.

Though sinful, we implore thee
To turn and make us live;
That so we may adore thee,
and our due offering give;
And the prayers and voices
of thy glad people rise,
As thy whole Church rejoices
In this great sacrifice.