Tag: Poetry

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty 

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“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy
health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Sing now in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all
things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle,
uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully,
wondrously, made thee!
Health hath vouchsafed and, when
heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of
His mercy doth send thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that
is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come
now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.”

Joachim Neander (1650 – 31 May 1680) was a  teacher, theologian and hymnwriter whose most famous hymn, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation  has been described by John Julian in his A Dictionary of Hymnology as “a magnificent hymn of praise to God, perhaps the finest creation of its author, and of the first rank in its class.

How Firm a Foundation 

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“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”

“E’en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.”

“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”

The author of this beloved hymn remains unknown.

Never Let It End, God

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Ruth Graham

Never let it end, God,
never–please–
all this growing loveliness,
all of these
brief moments of
fresh pleasure–
never let it end.
Let us always
be a little
breathless at love’s beauty;
never let us
pause to reason
from a sense of duty;
never let us
stop to measure
just how much to give;
never let us
stoop to weigh love;
let us live–
and live!
Please, God,
let our hearts kneel always,
Love their only master,
knowing the warm impulsiveness
of shattered alabaster:*
I know You can see things
the way a new bride sees,
so
never let it end, God,
never–please.

The Blessed Name

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There is no name so sweet on earth,

  No name so sweet in heaven,

The name before His wondrous birth

  To Christ the Saviour given.

O Jesus, by Thy matchless name,

  Thy grace shall fail us never;

To-day as yesterday the same,

  We’ll bless Thy name forever.

For there’s no name ear ever heard

  So dear, so sweet as Jesus.

We love to sing of Christ our King

  And hail Him, blessed Jesus.

  —George W. Bethune (1805-1862)

Jesus, My Strength, My Hope

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Jesus, my strength, my hope,
On thee I cast my care,
With humble confidence look up,
And know thou hearest prayer.
Give me on thee to wait,
Till I can all things do,
On thee, almighty to create,
Almighty to renew.I want a sober mind,
A self-renouncing will,
That tramples down and casts behind
The baits of pleasing ill;
A soul inured to pain,
To hardship, grief and loss,
Bold to take up, firm to sustain,
The consecrated cross.I want a godly fear,
A quick-discerning eye,
That looks to thee when sin is near,
And sees the tempter fly;
A spirit still prepared
And armed with jealous care,
For ever standing on its guard,
And watching unto prayer.I rest upon thy word;
The promise is for me;
My succour and salvation, Lord,
Shall surely come from thee.
But let me still abide,
Nor from my hope remove,
Till thou my patient spirit guide
Into thy perfect love.
  —Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Evolutionary Hymn

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C.S. Lewis

Lead us, Evolution, lead us

Up the future’s endless stair;

Chop us, change us, prod us, weed us.

For stagnation is despair:

Groping, guessing, yet progressing,

Lead us nobody knows where.

Wrong or justice, joy or sorrow,

In the present what are they

while there’s always jam-tomorrow,

While we tread the onward way?

Never knowing where we’re going,

We can never go astray.

To whatever variation

Our posterity may turn

Hairy, squashy, or crustacean,

Bulbous-eyed or square of stern,

Tusked or toothless, mild or ruthless,

Towards that unknown god we yearn.

Ask not if it’s god or devil,

Brethren, lest your words imply

Static norms of good and evil

(As in Plato) throned on high;

Such scholastic, inelastic,

Abstract yardsticks we deny.

Far too long have sages vainly

Glossed great Nature’s simple text;

He who runs can read it plainly,

‘Goodness = what comes next.’

By evolving, Life is solving

All the questions we perplexed.

Oh then! Value means survival-

Value. If our progeny

Spreads and spawns and licks each rival,

That will prove its deity

(Far from pleasant, by our present,

Standards, though it may well be).

C.S. Lewis (born November 29, 1898, Belfast, Ireland [now in Northern Ireland]—died November 22, 1963, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) was an Irish-born scholar, novelist, and author of about 40 books, many of them on Christian apologetics, including The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity.

Jesus’ Burden Is Light

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By Deborah Ann Belka

When our load is heavy,
Jesus’ burden is light
when we embrace our fears
He’ll give us strength to fight.

When we feel we are unloved,
Jesus will call out our name
when we feel our own disgrace
He’ll take away our shame.

When we feel over burdened,
Jesus will carry our strife
when we feel the sting of death
He’ll bring us eternal life.

When we feel like giving up,
Jesus will stretch out His hand
when we feel faint and weak
He’ll help us to rise and stand.

When we feel there is no hope,
Jesus will bring to us His love
when we feel our heart break
He’ll send mercy from above.

When we are in need of rest,
Jesus will give it to us
for His yoke is easy . . .
when we give Him our trust!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.