Music & HymnsRing The Bells Of Heaven

"He ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him." Luke 15:19

Words: William Orcutt Cushing, in Sacred Songs, by Ira Sankey, 1874.

Music: "Ring the Bells," George Frederick Root, Chapel Gems for Sunday School (Chicago, Illinois: Root & Cady, 1866)

Cushing wrote about these words:

The melody ran in my head all day long, chiming and flowing in its sweet musical cadence. I wished greatly that I might secure the tune for use in the Sunday-school and for other Christian purposes. When I heard the bells of heaven ringing of some sinner that had returned, it seemed like a glad day. Then the words, "Ring the bells of heaven" at once flowed down into the waiting melody.

Ring the bells of heaven! There is joy today,
For a soul, returning from the wild!
See, the Father meets him out upon the way,
Welcoming His weary, wandering child.

Refrain

Glory! Glory! How the angels sing:
Glory! Glory! How the loud harps ring!
'Tis the ransomed army, like a mighty sea,
Pealing forth the anthem of the free.

Ring the bells of heaven! There is joy today,
For the wanderer now is reconciled;
Yes, a soul is rescued from his sinful way,
And is born anew a ransomed child.

Refrain

Ring the bells of heaven! Spread the feast today!
Angels, swell the glad triumphant strain!
Tell the joyful tidings, bear it far away!
For a precious soul is born again.

Refrain

Hymns supplied through the gracious generosity of the Cyber Hymnal Website