Firmly I Believe and Truly

Lyrics

Firmly I believe and truly
God is Three, and God is One;
and I next acknowledge duly
manhood taken by the Son.

And I trust and hope most fully
in that manhood crucified;
and each thought and deed unruly
do to death, as he has died.

Simply to his grace and wholly
light and life and strength belong,
and I love supremely, solely,
him the holy, him the strong.

And I hold in veneration,
for the love of him alone,
Holy Church as his creation,
and her teachings as his own.

Adoration ay be given,
with and through the angelic host,
to the God of earth and heaven,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

History

This hymn comes from The Dream of Gerontius (1865), John Henry Newman's long poem on the soul's passage from deathbed to judgment, and stands as a compact profession of faith: the Trinity ('God is Three, and God is One'), the Incarnation ('manhood taken by the Son'), the Cross, the life of grace, and the Church. Hymnary.org lists it in over forty hymnals, sung to a variety of tunes including HALTON HOLGATE (adapted from William Boyce), SHIPSTON and ALTON.

Newman was born in London in 1801 and educated at Trinity College, Oxford, becoming a Fellow of Oriel in 1822 and vicar of the university church of St Mary's from 1828. A leader of the Oxford Movement alongside Keble and Pusey, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and created a Cardinal in 1879. He died at Edgbaston, Birmingham in 1890. Among his other enduring hymns are 'Lead, Kindly Light' and 'Praise to the Holiest in the Height' — the latter also from The Dream of Gerontius.

Performance

This recording by St Martin's Voices runs to about two and a half minutes: a short organ introduction leads into the five verses sung in full, closing with a brief organ postlude.

Sources: hymnary.org · St Martin's Voices recording and Words book (Words for 14th Sunday after Trinity): 'John Henry Newman (1801-1890)', '(Public Domain)'