AWAKE, MY SOUL, STRETCH EVERY NERVE

"He wakens me morning by morning." Isaiah 50:4

Words: Philip Doddridge (1702-1751). Published posthumously in Hymns Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures, 1755.
Music: "Christmas," George Frederick Handel, 1728; arranged in Harmonia Sacra, 1812.

Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on;
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown,
And an immortal crown.

A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey;
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way,
And onward urge thy way.

'Tis God's all animating voice
That calls thee from on high;
'Tis His own hand presents the prize
To thine aspiring eye.

Then wake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on,
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown.