Hymn
O 'twas a joyful sound to hear
O 'twas a joyful sound to hear,
Our tribes exulting say,
Up Israel! to the temple haste,
And keep your festal day.
At Salem's courts we must appear,
With our assembled powers,
In strong and beauteous order ranged,
Like her united towers.
O ever pray for Salem's peace;
For they shall prosperous be,
Thou holy city of our God,
Who bear true love to thee.
May peace within thy sacred walls
A constant guest be found;
With plenty and prosperity
Thy palaces be crowned.
For my dear brethren's sake, and friends
No less than brethren dear,
I'll pray, May peace in Salem's towers
A constant guest appear.
But most of all I'll seek thy good,
And ever wish thee well,
For Sion and the temple's sake,
Where God vouchsafes to dwell.
O 'twas a joyful sound to hear — Text from The Church Hymnal, 1920. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/o-twas-a-joyful-sound-to-hear
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Questions about this hymn
Is O 'twas a joyful sound to hear public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from The Church Hymnal, published in 1920. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the metre of O 'twas a joyful sound to hear?
O 'twas a joyful sound to hear is in Common Metre (8.6.8.6). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, The Holiness of God, Blest is the man, whose softening heart and Lord, Teach Us How to Pray Aright.