1. Come, we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known, Join in a song with sweet accord, Join in a song with sweet accord And thus surround the throne, And thus surround the throne. 2. Let those refuse to sing Who never knew our God, But children of the heav'nly King, But children of the heav'nly King, May speak their joys abroad, May speak their joys abroad. 3. The hill of Zion yields A thousand sacred sweets Before we reach the heav'nly fields, Before we reach the heav'nly fields, Or walk the golden streets, Or walk the golden streets. 4. Then let our songs abound And every tear be dry; We're marching through Immanuel's ground, We're marching through Immanuel's ground, To fairer worlds on high, To fairer worlds on high. Chorus: We're marching to Zion, Beautiful, beautiful Zion; We're marching upward to Zion, The beautiful city of God.
Lyrics: Isaac Watts;
Chorus: Robert Wadsworth Lowry
Music:
Robert Wadsworth Lowry
Tune: MARCHING TO ZION
Meter: 6.6.8.8.6.6. with Refrain
Isaac Watts, 1674–1748
Should we sing psalms or hymns in our church services? This was the controversy stirring many congregations during the 17th and 18th centuries. Isaac Watts was the life-long champion of the “humanly composed” hymn, while the majority of the English-speaking churches insisted on the traditional psalm settings. Tempers frequently flared, and some churches actually split in the heat of this decidedly inharmonious musical conflict. In some churches a compromise was reached. The psalm setting would be sung in the early part of the service with a hymn used at the close, during which time the parishioners could leave or simply refuse to sing.
Isaac Watts may have written this hymn to refute his critics, who termed his hymns “Watts’ Whims.” This hymn first appeared in Watts’ Hymns and Spiritual Songs in 1707 and was titled “Heavenly Joy on Earth.”