Get all 4 Phil Berthoud releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Acoustic Christmas Carols for Guitar, Mandolin and Fiddle, The Thought Expressed, In the Footsteps of the Vagabond, and When Two Rivers Meet.
1. |
Out of Nothing
03:57
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Out of nothing, O Lord Jesus, out of nothing
Thou hast framed the mighty firmament on high:
From the darkness and the dreary void, Thou madest
Stars and oceans and the clouds that sail the sky:
Refrain:
And from Thee is brother light
Who displays before our sight
All the beauty of the live green Earth:
All Creation is Thine own,
From the Seraph to the stone -
By Thy Wisdom all that breathes
was brought to birth:
'All the cattle on a thousand hills are Thine,'
And the singing of the birds that greets the dawn;
But Thy Miracle, which crowns Thy whole design,
Is that Thou wast once a child, of Mary born. (R)
The revolutions of a million worlds
Which all respond with joy, except for one -
Our little world, that insolently hurls
Its dissonance! ... but God has sent His Son (R)
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2. |
O Nature is Wonderful
03:27
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O nature is wonderful, worthy of praise -
Stars in the night, and sun in the days,
Nothing and sin and chaos and whim
Walk in the dark alone; without Him
Refrain:
God is in nature, and nature in Him
Without whom remains nothing
and chaos and whim!
Snows on the mountains, streams in the vales,
Birds of the forest and seafaring whales,
Horses and elephants, fishes and snails,
Flowery meads - and the exquisite tales
Of peacocks! I cease,
lest your interest fails! (R)
Who balanced the Universe,
ordered the stars,
Calling their names - 'O Venus, O Mars,
To heel! to heel!' and His wondrous Wheel
Of Creation revolves; while Satan doth steal
Over the Earth... But the Virgin's worth
Has crushed his head by the Virgin-Birth! (R)
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3. |
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I do not follow Thee, O Lord,
I seek not well Thy will;
And all my life is weariness
And all my love falls ill;
And everywhere is emptiness
Of which I drink my fill;
I do not follow Thee, O Lord,
But Thou dost find me still.
Yet do I seek Thy Face, O Lord,
Thy wonder I would see;
The Maker of all loveliness
All beautiful must be:
Now, overcome by loneliness
I cast my cares on Thee;
This do I by Thy grace, dear Lord,
Thy Spirit follows me.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ
So loved the souls of men,
That, kneeling in Gethsemane
He wept in blood for them.
There, in an awful agony,
He sought the Father's will;
And He who died on Calvary,
The souls of men loves still.
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4. |
To Thee We Tread
05:07
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No more, my Lord, to dream away Thy time
Among the fading blooms on pleasure's lawn;
No more to slumber, heedless of Thy chime
That keeps unfailing watch from dawn till dawn;
Refrain:
To Thee we tread the path which Jesus trod,
So rest our hearts in His - Thy Heart, dear God.
No more the quest for this world's fairest views
Which can but fill the eye with fresh desire;
No more the crowding vanities and news
Which keep from souls the Holy Spirit's fire; (R)
No more the wand’rer way, the wide unrest,
And weary search for joys that pass and cease;
No more, Good Lord, to turn from Thy behest,
For now we know Thy Will to be our peace: (R)
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5. |
The Thought Expressed
04:20
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The Word of God is valleys, woods and hills,
Mountains, streams and rivers running broad
Towards the seas ... at ease the book refills
With bees in clover, swallows over sward;
Refrain:
Myriad sights, myriad sounds, I AM,
But best expressed as born of Miriam.
The Word of God expressing God The Thought
Plays with the dolphins, crests the restless waves,
Goes surf-riding in idle man for sport,
Walks with the kings and saunters with the knaves;
Refrain:
Myriad sights, myriad sounds, I AM,
But best expressed as born of Miriam.
Talks with the swifts concerning their migrations
And tells the storks which chimneys to select. ...
In all of this He couples ministrations
With God The Voice, The Paraclete elect: (R)
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6. |
Why Fum'th in Fight
02:38
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Why fum'th in fight:
The Gentiles spite, in fury raging stout?
Why tak'th in hand:
The people fond, vain things to bring about?
The kings arise the lords devise,
in counsels met thereto:
Against the Lord with false accord
against his Christ they go.
Let us they say:
break down their ray, of all the bonds and cords:
We will renounce:
that they pronounce, their laws as stately lordes.
But God of might: in heav'n so bright
shall laugh them all to scorn:
The Lord on High shall them defy
they shall be once forlorn.
Then shall his ire:
speak all in fire,
to them again therefore:
He shall with threat:
their malice beat
in his displeasure sore.
Yet am I set a king so great
on Sion hill full fast:
Though me they kill yet will that hill,
my law and word outcast.
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7. |
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O seek your Treasure high above
Let God alone your heart enthral,
And you will find the Lord your Love
In all things dwelling - All in all:
So shall your eyes, no longer dim
In seeing all, see only Him.
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8. |
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World's losses sow the seed of heaven's gain;
There's ne'er a single severance on earth,
No death-struck blow, nor parting charged with pain,
No sadness, but can give to joy a birth.
Refrain:
No strength divine to pilgrims is denied,
Since Christ the King for men was crucified.
Let those who in their heart's desires are crossed,
And, sore in anguish, would from life retire,
Believe love's longings never to be lost -
Misfortune is the soul's refining fire. (R)
If circumstance to man was always kind,
His sojourn here perpetual easiness,
What place should the eternal kingdom find?
These roads of hardness lead to blessedness. (R)
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9. |
Contemplo
06:28
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A temple, Lord,
A temple true
Are You in me
Am I in You:
Within this temple may present
Me with the Blessed Sacrament
The Mother of us both and she
Herself the fane most fair and free
Of Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Hostess elect of Christ Mine Host
Oft in a human being seems
The Saviour far from all his themes
And lost that soul to Jesus’ reign,
Yet Christ the King is in that fane
As hid in man the hidden God
Crucified e’en; but at His nod
Who is the Lord
Of Lord our King,
Rises the Son there,
Shines fair spring.
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10. |
Strange Vagabond
06:50
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Strange vagabond that knows not what to seek!
The rest you lack lies not thus far afield:
Much babel tumult makes your hearing weak,
And all replete with sights your eyes are sealed!
Refrain:
So search none other, never more depart -
For you are homeless save God keeps your heart.
Far out you’ve strayed to find your inmost soul,
But souls their eloquence in stillness find:
Be still then! Let God's Silence make you whole,
For He alone can calm your troubled mind. (R)
Your heart's desire is nearest, though unseen,
Your haven of perfection close at hand;
And that drear quest was as a fevered dream;
God's love within you is your native land! (R)
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11. |
Heaven's Gain
03:18
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Phil Berthoud England, UK
Phil Berthoud, based in Devon, south-west England, is a musician, composer, author and teacher.
He has been a
musician for over 40 years - plays guitar, fiddle and mandolin, has written many books on playing these instruments (all published by Mel Bay), and has recorded 4 albums.
... more
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