God of Love, We Look to Thee in Tonic Solfa
God of Love, We Look to Thee in Tonic Solfa to MESSIAH (HERALD), doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mGod--rofdlove,-dwe- | flook--mtorthee;--- |
| sLet--luslin-sthy- | mSon-da--rgree;--- |
| mShow--rtodus-dthe- | fPrince--mofrPeace;--- |
| sBid--loursjars-mfor-- | rev---derdcease.--- |
| t,By--dthyrrec--fon-- | mcil---ringdlove,--- |
| rEv---meryfstum--lbling- | sblock--fre-mmove;--- |
| mEach--rtodeach-du-- | fnite,--men-rdear;--- |
| sCome,--landsspread-mthy- | rban---dnerdhere.--- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- t, to l (E to D, a seventh)
- Tune
- MESSIAH (HERALD)
- Words
- Anonymous
Tune MESSIAH (HERALD) by Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined) and George Kingsley (died undefined); words by Anonymous. Sources and licences.
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
God of love, we look to thee;
Let us in thy Son agree;
Show to us the Prince of Peace;
Bid our jars forever cease.
By thy reconciling love,
Every stumbling-block remove;
Each to each unite, endear;
Come, and spread thy banner here.
Make us of one heart and mind,
Courteous, pitiful, and kind;
Lowly, meek, in thought and word,
Altogether like our Lord.
Let us for each other care;
Each the other's burden bear;
To thy church the pattern give;
Show how true believers live.
Free from anger and from pride,
Let us thus in God abide;
All the depths of love express,
All the heights of holiness.
Let us, then, with joy remove
To the family above;
On the wings of angels fly;
Show how true believers die.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on m (A).
- Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
These words were printed without an author's name in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 908 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “For Brotherly Love”, where the book credits them to Wesley's Collection.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MESSIAH (HERALD); any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1839): Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined)
- Arranged (1839): George Kingsley (died undefined)
Tune MESSIAH (HERALD) by Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined) and George Kingsley (died undefined); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: 'Tis My Happiness Below, Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise, Bound upon the Accursed Tree, Come, and Let Us Sweetly Join, Faint the Earth, and Parched with Drought, Grace, Triumphant in the Throne, Happy Man Whom God Doth Aid, Happy Soul Who Sees the Day, Hark! How Time's Wide Sounding Bell, Jesus, We Thy Promise Claim, Let the Beasts Their Breath Resign, Lord! Thou Didst Arise and Say, Oft in Vain the Voice of Truth, Sinner, Art Thou Still Secure.
Questions about God of Love, We Look to Thee
What is the doh of God of Love, We Look to Thee?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does God of Love, We Look to Thee start on?
It starts on m (A in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is God of Love, We Look to Thee in the public domain?
Yes. Louis J. F. Herold died in undefined, George Kingsley died in undefined; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1839. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.