O Weary Saint
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Description
O weary saint is a song written particularly for those facing despair at the prospect of their own death or upon the death of a loved one. We are convinced that death is one topic that Christians don’t sing enough about; not what lies beyond death – the glories of heaven – but death itself. Even though Christians have the assurance that death has been conquered and its sting removed (1 Corinthians 15:54-57), we still face physical death and the fears and sorrows that accompany it. This song allows us to confront our grief but offers the encouragement of how Christ can transform it into hope so that we do “not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Notice that the song is written in a chiastic structure – the second verse is the crux through which the gloom and despair of the first verse are transformed into faith and hope of future promises. O believer, since you are in Christ you will rise again one day in soul and body to everlasting joy!Other Info
Tune "Love Unknown" by John Ireland (1879-1962) is copyright © The John Ireland Trust and is reproduced here by permission of the John Ireland Trustees.Lyrics
Verse 1:O weary saint cast down,
Who mourns in barren field,
Whose heart and flesh now fail
And naught but weeping yield–
When fears increase as life departs,
Where is the balm for broken hearts?
Verse 2:
The weary Savior died
And in the grave was sown
To bear the wrath of God
For sin though not His own
Then He arose from where He lay,
The firstfruits of the harvest day.
Verse 3:
O weary saint look up
For from the barren field
Will rise, in Christ, His own
With heart and flesh then healed.
Our hope is this, that death is gain,
Our tears and sighs will not remain.
Our tears and sighs will not remain.
Words by Eric Schumacher & David L. Ward, © 2008 ThousandTongues.org
Tune "Love Unknown" by John Ireland (1879-1962)
© The John Ireland Trust and is reproduced here by permission of the John Ireland Trustees
Tune "Love Unknown" by John Ireland (1879-1962)
© The John Ireland Trust and is reproduced here by permission of the John Ireland Trustees
[...] that I Have Done - A very sparse, guitar driven ballad with upright bass and pedal steel guitar 11. O Weary Saint - Another sparse setting, piano-driven with Irish flute and cello 12. Begone, Unbelief - A [...]
[...] O Weary Saint is a hymn text that Eric Schumacher and I wrote a couple of years ago on songwriting retreat. After writing it for the tune “Love Unknown” by John Ireland, we found that it was still under copyright. The John Ireland Trust graciously allowed us to use it, and the song has been a blessing to me, Eric, and many others as well. To prepare for our upcoming release concert I created a score that follows the arrangement that appears on our latest album, Merciful to Me. The three page score contains piano, cello, and flute and could be adapted for use with other instruments as well (at the concert we won’t have a cellist so I’ve transposed the cello part for violin). You can grab the score on the right-hand side of the song page for O Weary Saint. I created a separate post about this because such a small change to the song would likely fall below the radar of most readers, and if you have any use for a full piano score that sounds like the recording this should be helpful. [...]
[...] O Weary Saint – Another sparse setting, piano-driven with Irish flute and [...]