Guide us, O thou great Jehovah - Hymns # 83

January 6, 2018

Lyrics

1. Guide us, O thou great Jehovah, Guide us to the promised land.

We are weak, but thou art able; Hold us with thy pow'rful hand.

Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Feed us till the Savior comes, Feed us till the Savior comes.

French

Vers Sion, cité promise, guide nous grand Jehovah.

Que ta main nous y conduise, c'est toi qui nous sauveras.

Que tous ceux de ton Église soient prêts quand tu reviendras.

Portuguese

Dá-nos, Cristo, teu socorro e afasta a tentaçao!

Spanish

Danos, Cristo, tu socorro; líbranos de tentación.

Jehovah, God, Christ, is the great and powerful god who can guide us to Zion, his promised land. He can do it with his powerful hand, and save us, despite our weakness. Through his Holy Ghost, He can feed us with his gospel, he can prepare us for his return, he can himself give his relief and deliver us from temptation. As members of his church, we can receive the Holy Ghost and have the guidance to prepare for his Second Coming.

2. Open, Jesus, Zion's fountains; let her richest blessings come.
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar guard us to this holy home.
Great Redeemer, Great Redeemer, bring, oh, bring the welcome day, bring, oh, bring the welcome day!

French

Fais briller ta belle aurore, qui répandra ses bienfaits.

Sus Sion où vont éclore nos désirs et nos projets.

Notre Dieu, vois, on t'implore, conduis-nous à tes sommets.

Portuguese

Faz, Senhor, que se propaguem boas novas de Siâo.

Um pilar de fogo e nuvem nos será por pavilhao.

Ó Messias prometido eis a tua legiao!

Spanish

Danos, Cristo bendiciones que nos lleven a Sión.

el pilar y nube deja que nos guién en unión.

Christ can gives us blessings, he can let the rich blessings from his gospel, the good news of Zion, come upon us from his fountain of love, guidance that can guide us to Zion. It is when getting to Zion that we shall be able to see our deepest desires and dreams been fulfilled, and god will let the sunrise shine upon us in order to accomplish those desires and dreams.
As the Israelites, God can lead us through a pillar of fire or a cloud, or any other "form", he will always provide us the way to return to Him, to receive his blessings. His pillar of light (interesting, as the pillar of light seen by Joseph Smith) will be our pavilion, our way to Him (the restoration brought us that way... ;)) That pilar and cloud can guide us in unity to Zion - unity is important to take us there, because although salvation is personal, we can, with our service to each other, remain on that path.
God is the one who will bring that day of His return. We pray him that we might be there with him, that he will take us to the top of his mountain with him.
Christ can give us blessing to lead us to Zion: through his tender mercies and the reminder of his love we can keep the focus and the faith of where we want to be: home, with him.

3. When the earth begins to tremble, bid our fearful thoughts be still;

When thy judgments spread destruction, keep us safe on Zion's hill,

Singing praises, Singing praises, songs of glory unto thee, songs of glory unto thee.

French

Calme-nous dans la détresse, quand la terre tremblera.

En Sion, ô Dieu, nous laisse quand le jugement viendra,

là, un doux chant d'allégresse en ces jours s'élevera.

Portuguese

Ao sentir tremer a terra, dá-nos forças e valor.

E, chegando o julgamente, ergue o braço protetor.

Em teu reino, louvaremos o teu nome com fervor!

Spanish

Al venir Tus grandes juicios, cuidanos con tu amor.

He will come back - earth will tremble that great and abominable day for the wicked - may we be still, may he calm our troubled heart, may he gives us strenght and courage. How? Through obedience and faithfulness. As we follow him, he will give us his gifts and his peace, allowing us to know that we have remain worthy of His love, so when he shall judge us, we will know that we are protected through his love, that we will remain safe on his hill, in Zion, that we will avoid being destroyed, he will stretch his arm upon us to protec us. Oh this great day, we shall sing to Him, we shall sing songs of praises, songs of glory, song of joy, with fervour.

Original Welsh version:

Lord, lead me through the wilderness, me, a pilgrim of poor appearance,

I don't have strength or life in me, like lying in the grave:

Omnipotent, Omnipotent is the one who brings me to the shore. Is the one who brings me to the shore.

We are nothing, we are pilgrims, and he, the Omnipotent, is the one who can take us to the shore. 

Open the sweet fountains flowing from the Rock that is;

Give a column of fire to lead me at night, and give a column of fog during the day.

Give me manna. Give me manna, so that I shall not falter. So that I shall not falter.

He gives us water, he guides us, he feeds us with manna, that we shall not falter.

When I walk the bank of the Jordan, cause all my fears to sink;

Take me through the roughest waves over to Canaan, a cosy home:

Unending praise. Unending praise will be to Your name for this. Will be to Your name for this.

He can help us walk through waters without fears, he can take us accros rough waves. 

Oh how should we praise him for this.

— Verbatim English-language translation

Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but thou art mighty; hold me with thy powerful hand:

Bread of heaven, bread of heaven feed me till I want no more. Feed me till I want no more.

Open thou the crystal fountain whence the healing stream shall flow;

Let the fiery, cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through:

Strong deliverer, strong deliverer be thou still my strength and shield. Be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,bid my anxious fears subside;

Death of death, and hell's destruction, land me safe on Canaan's side:

Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to thee. I will ever give to thee.

— Hymns and Psalms

Although the LDS version (the one on the hymnbook) is more about the Second Coming and great judgment, I love how the original version is about the israelites' exodus and the mercy Jehovah had towards them during those hard travelings. He guide them, he protected them, he fed them, he gave them to drink, he delivered them, he guided them home, to their promised land. As with the israelites, God is doing exactly the same with us in our day, through our challenges as persons, through our progression as members of his church, through how he is preparing for his Second Coming. In any aspect of our lives, he is the One who will give us the greatest protection, blessings, love... He is the One we must praise with song forever.

Scriptures
Exodus 13:21-22

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The Lord want to guide us, he wants to be there before us to take us to our promised land, and he won't take it away.

D&C 45:57

For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived -
verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. 

God has given us that pillar of fire and a cloud, he has given us the means to receive his guidance: the Holy Ghost! If we keep ourselves clean and worthy to have the constant company of the Holy Spirit, we will feel his guidance, his protection, his support, his love.

About the author: 
William Williams 
"Williams Pantycelyn travelled throughout Wales (he is said to have partly supported his ministry by selling tea,)[4] preaching the doctrine of Calvinistic Methodism. He needed to be not only a theologian and an advocate for the new Connexion, but an organiser and administrator. His converts gathered in seiadau (fellowship meetings). Williams had to organise, and then maintain, these seiadau as he went around the country. Each successful visit to a new locality in turn required a new seiat. Although he was not alone in his mission, the workload and mental burden must have been considerable. By the same token, it must have been deeply rewarding to see the community grow and thrive over the years and to reflect on the alternative life he had forsaken, as the priest of some obscure rural Anglican parish in mid-Wales... Williams' virtuosity as a hymn-writer earned him the accolade: Y pêr ganiedydd (The Sweet Songster) - echoing the description of King David as "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel, 23:1)."