Tuesday, June 11, 2024

the LORD that Heals -- William Cowper





Jehovah-Rophi

I Am the LORD That Healeth Thee 


Heal us, EMMANUEL, here we are
Waiting to feel Thy touch;
Deep wounded souls to Thee repair,
And Savior, we are such.

Our faith is feeble we confess,
We faintly trust Thy Word;
But wilt Thou pity us the less?
Be that far from Thee, Lord!

Remember him who once applied
With trembling for relief;
“Lord, I believe,” with tears he cried,
“O help my unbelief!”

She, too, who touched Thee in the press
And healing virtue stole,
Was answered, “Daughter, go in peace,
Thy faith has made thee whole.”

Concealed amid the gathering throng,
She would have shunned Thy view;
And if her faith was firm and strong,
Had strong misgivings too.

Like her, with hopes and fears we come
To touch Thee if we may;
O send us not despairing home,
Send none unhealed away.

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

The Bread and Wine of those Outside



 Do not enter the path of the wicked or walk in the way of those who are evil.
...
 For they eat bread gained from wickedness and drink wine obtained from violence.

https://bible.com/bible/107/pro.4.14-17.NET

Saturday, April 6, 2024

The Jew

The Jew

Scattered by God's avenging hand, Afflicted and forlorn, 
Sad wanderers from their pleasant land, Do Judah's children mourn; 
And e'en in Christian countries, few Breathe thoughts of pity for the Jew.

Yet listen, Gentile, do you love 
The Bible's precious page? 
Then let your heart with kindness move 
To Israel's heritage; 
Who traced those lines of love for you? Each sacred writer was a Jew.

And then as years and ages passed, 
And nations rose and fell, 
Though cloud and darkness oft were cast 
O'er captive Israel
The oracles of God for you 
Were kept in safety by the Jew.

And when the great Redeemer came
For guilty man to bleed.
He did not take an angel's name, 
No, born of Abraham's seed, 
Jesus, who gave His life for you- 
The gentle Saviour - was a Jew.

And though His own received Him not, 
And turned in pride away,
Whence is the Gentile's happier lot?
Are you more just than they? 
No! God in pity turned to you- 
Have you no pity for the Jew?

Go, then, and bend your knee to pray 
For Israel's ancient race; 
Ask the dear Saviour every day 
To call them by His grace.
Go, for a debt of love is due 
From Christian Gentiles to the Jew. 

-- Poems for Sunshine and Shadow
   Back to the Bible Publishers 

Friday, March 29, 2024

"Crossing the Bar," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
    And one clear call for me.
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
    When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
    Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
    Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
    And after that the dark:
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
    When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
    The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face,
    When I have crost the bar.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Flung To The Heedless Winds

     1. Flung to the heedless winds
        Or on the waters cast,
        The martyrs' ashes, watched,
        Shall gathered be at last.
        And from that scattered dust,
        Around us and abroad,
        Shall spring a plenteous seed
        Of witnesses for God.

     2. The Father hath received
        Their latest living breath,
        And vain is Satan's boast
        Of victory in their death.
        Still, still, though dead, they speak,
        And, trumpet-tongued, proclaim
        To many a wakening land
        The one availing Name.

        ___________________________________________________
        Notes:
        259 from the Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal
        Text: Acts 7: 59
        Author: Martin Luther, 1523 st. 9
        Translated by: John A. Messenger, 1843
        Titled: Ein neues Lied wir heben an
        Tune: Denby
        Composer: Charles J. Dale, 1904

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Hymn on the Lord’s Sup­per # 57.

O the depth of love divine,
Th’unfathomable grace!
Who shall say how bread and wine
God into us conveys!
How the bread His flesh imparts,
How the wine transmits His blood,
Fills His faithful people’s hearts
With all the life of God!

Let the wisest mortals show
How we the grace receive;
Feeble elements bestow
A power not theirs to give.
Who explains the wondrous way,
How through these the virtue came?
These the virtue did convey,
Yet still remain the same.

How can spirits heavenward rise,
By earthly matter fed,
Drink herewith divine supplies
And eat immortal bread?
Ask the Fa­ther’s wisdom how:
Christ who did the means ordain;
Angels round our altars bow
To search it out, in vain.

Sure and re-al is the grace,
The manner be unknown;
Only meet us in Thy ways
And perfect us in one.
Let us taste the heavenly powers,
Lord, we ask for nothing more.
Thine to bless, ’tis only ours
To wonder and adore.
-- Charles Wesley  A.D.1745

Monday, February 5, 2024

How Great Thou Art -- 2 extra verses

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Additional Verses from the Swedish:
När tryckt av synd och skuld jag faller neder,
Vid Herrens fot och ber om nåd och frid.
Och han min själ på rätta vägen leder,
Och frälsar mig från all min synd och strid.

When burdens press, and seem beyond endurance,
Bowed down with grief, to Him I lift my face;
And then in love He brings me sweet assurance:
'My child! for thee sufficient is my grace'.

När jag hör dårar i sin dårskaps dimma
Förneka Gud och håna hvad han sagt,
Men ser likväl, att de hans hjälp förnimma
Och uppehållas af hans nåd och makt.

O when I see ungrateful man defiling
This bounteous earth, God's gifts so good and great;
In foolish pride, God's holy Name reviling,
And yet, in grace, His wrath and judgment wait.