"With Many Sorrows"

Here is another Hymn (or poem, if ye prefer to use it as such), called, "With Many Sorrows". I wrote it, and then went "shopping" for an appropriate tune. Here is where I "went shopping":

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/mid/met/met.htm

This is an 86.86.86.86 hymn, for the most part, but some lines are 9 or 7 syllables, respectively - so the last two syllables may have to be "doubled-up".

So far, the following melodies have worked best for me: "Euphemia", "Ancyra", "Chester_Oratory", and "Varina" . "Cleansing Fountain" (the American melody for "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood"), also fits the meter, and is probably more familiar to more people. "Auld_Lang_Syne" is another well-known tune, which I think fits well (with this tune, I recommend repeating the last four lines of each verse, a second time).

Finally, I just discovered "Car­ol" - the tune to which "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" is commonly sung:

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/t/itcameup.htm

1. With many sorrows peirc-ed through,
Have many people been;
For did the love of money woo
Them headlong into sin!
May we who follow afterward,
Avoid this cursed path;
And worship Jesus Christ, the Lord,
As God, commanded, hath.

2. To Baalam, son of Beor, now
My thoughts begin to turn;
I pray you, now, his tragic story,
From, a lesson learn;
When called to curse, three times he blessed,
The chosen, holy seed -
And, as if that were not enough,
He onward did proceed;
3. To prophecy of things, including,
Jesus, the Messiah,
As, later, did Isaiah, and the
Prophet Jeremiah!
The love of money did, however,
Prove, his sad undoing;
He headlong into error fell,
While fleeting gold pursuing!

4. He sub-til-ly devised a plan,
To make God's people stumble;
In fornication they did fall,
And learned to be more humble;
Restored, however, they did exe-
cute their vile deceivers;
And Baalam learned that he and they,
Were, of the curse, receivers!

5. Then be ye warned - ye workers of
Iniquity for profit!
The love of money is a fatal path -
Now, get ye off it!
And, furthermore, I warn the sheep -
Take heed to whom ye follow;
Be not as fools who, with the swine,
To mire, return, and wallow!

6. The simple test of any prophet,
Is the fruit they bear;
The shepherd's tender loving voice,
If ye hear not, beware!
About the "Lordship" of the Lord,
Some seem to love to talk -
But, when they call him "Lord" one day,
Are they in for a shock?

Daniel