Word & Song by Anthony Esolen

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Pleasant are Thy Courts Above

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Hymn of the Week

Pleasant are Thy Courts Above

Henry Francis Lyte (1834)

Anthony Esolen
Aug 9, 2022
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Pleasant are Thy Courts Above

anthonyesolen.substack.com

How do you know when Scripture is a living presence, a flowing spring welling up in the hearts of the faithful? When they compose hymns that do not merely repeat a verse, but that meditate upon it and allow it to resound with other verses and other scenes in Scripture, so that the result is a subtle commentary on the text, and a moving and thoughtful work of art. That’s what we have in Henry Francis Lyte’s hymn, “Pleasant are Thy Courts Above,” sung best to the lilting and utterly lovely melody Maidstone.

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