Battle Hymn of the Republic ~ Hymn

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

Words: Ju­lia W. Howe, 1861, alt. This hymn was born dur­ing the Amer­i­can ci­vil war, when Howe vis­it­ed a Un­ion Ar­my camp on the Po­to­mac Riv­er near Wash­ing­ton, D. C. She heard the sol­diers sing­ing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was tak­en with the strong march­ing beat. She wrote the words the next day:

I awoke in the grey of the morn­ing, and as I lay wait­ing for dawn, the long lines of the de­sired po­em be­gan to en­twine them­selves in my mind, and I said to my­self, “I must get up and write these vers­es, lest I fall asleep and for­get them!” So I sprang out of bed and in the dim­ness found an old stump of a pen, which I re­mem­bered us­ing the day be­fore. I scrawled the vers­es al­most with­out look­ing at the p­aper.

The hymn ap­peared in the At­lant­ic Month­ly in 1862. It was sung at the fun­er­als of Brit­ish states­man Win­ston Church­ill, Amer­i­can sen­at­or Ro­bert Ken­ne­dy, and Am­er­i­can pre­si­dents Ron­ald Rea­gan and Ri­chard Nix­on.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic is also known by the title, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory.

Truth for Today #193

Friday July 3rd

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Colossians 1:28-29

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

From Vera:

Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” ‭‭

From Debby:

For me it was “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14 – I studied that this week, thinking about what that meant as an American.

 

 

Cannon Beach Postcard

We are on our way home from a week at Cannon Beach Christian Conference center. I’ll share more about our time there soon. It was a lovely way to start off the summer.

“Our unseen God is providentially working in our lives even when it feels like he is conspicuously absent or silent.”

 

Father, Lead Thy Little Children ~ Hymn

Father, Lead Thy Little Children

Father, lead Thy lit­tle child­ren
Very ear­ly to Thy throne;
We will have no gods be­fore Thee;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Lead, O lead Thy lit­tle child­ren
Very ear­ly to Thy throne;
We will have no gods be­fore Thee;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

In the Bi­ble Thou hast taught us
All our thoughts to Thee are known;
Thou canst see us in the dark­ness;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Though the hea­then bow to id­ols,
They have made of wood and stone,
We have Christ­ian friends to tell us
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Thou dost give us all our com­forts,
Everything we call our own
Comes from Thee, our heav’n­ly Fa­ther;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1883.

Truth for Today #192

Friday June 19th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Note: I will be away from my computer next Friday so there will not be a Truth for Today post Friday the 26th.

Hebrews 6:4-8

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 10:26-31

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgement, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has se aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or more witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” ‭‭

From Maristella:

1 Timothy 6:11

But you, man of God, flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

 

 

Soldiers of Christ, Arise ~ Hymn

I was going to narrow down the 16 stanzas of this hymn/poem that Charles Wesley wrote but on second thought decided to post it all. I’m putting the definitions of some of the ‘old’ words at the end for my benefit and maybe yours.

Soldiers of Christ, Arise

Soldiers of Christ, arise,
And put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies
Through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of hosts,
And in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts
Is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might,
With all His strength endued,
And take, to arm you for the fight,
The panoply of God;
That, having all things done,
And all your conflicts past,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone
And stand entire at last.

Stand then against your foes,
In close and firm array;
Legions of wily fiends oppose
Throughout the evil day;
But meet the sons of night,
And mock their vain design,
Armed in the arms of heavenly light,
Of righteousness divine.

Leave no unguarded place,
No weakness of the soul,
Take every virtue, every grace,
And fortify the whole;
Indissolubly joined,
To battle all proceed;
But arm yourselves with all the mind
That was in Christ, your head.

Let truth the girdle be,
That binds your armor on,
In faithful, firm sincerity
To Jesus cleave alone.
Let faith and love combine
To guard your valiant breast:
The plate be righteousness divine,
Imputed, and impressed.

Still let your feet be shod,
Ready His will to do,
Ready in all the ways of God
His glory to pursue:
Ruin is spread beneath,
The Gospel greaves put on,
And safe through all the snares of death
To life eternal run.

But, above all, lay hold
On faith’s victorious shield;
Armed with that adamant and gold,
Be sure to win the field:
If faith surround your heart,
Satan shall be subdued,
Repelled his every fiery dart,
And quenched with Jesus’ blood.

Jesus hath died for you!
What can His love withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield, and who
Shall pluck you from His hand?
Believe that Jesus reigns,
All power to Him is given:
Believe, till freed from sin’s remains;
Believe yourselves to Heaven.

Your Rock can never shake:
Hither, He saith, come up!
The helmet of salvation take,
The confidence of hope:
Hope for His perfect love,
Hope for His people’s rest,
Hope to sit down with Christ above,
And share the marriage feast.

Brandish in faith till then
The Spirit’s two-edged sword,
Hew all the snares of fiends and men
In pieces with the Word;
’Tis written; This applied
Baffles their strength and art;
Spirit and soul with this divide,
And joints and marrow part.

To keep your armor bright,
Attend with constant care,
Still walking in your captain’s sight,
And watching unto prayer.
Ready for all alarms,
Steadfastly set your face,
And always exercise your arms,
And use your every grace.

Pray without ceasing, pray,
Your captain gives the word;
His summons cheerfully obey
And call upon the Lord;
To God your every want
In instant prayer display,
Pray always; pray and never faint,
Pray, without ceasing, pray!

In fellowship; alone,
To God with faith draw near;
Approach His courts, besiege His throne
With all the powers of prayer:
Go to His temple, go,
Nor from His altar move;
Let every house His worship know,
And every heart His love.

To God your spirits dart,
Your souls in words declare,
Or groan, to Him who reads the heart,
The unutterable prayer.
His mercy now implore,
And now show forth His praise,
In shouts, or silent awe, adore
His miracles of grace.

Pour out your souls to God,
And bow them with your knees,
And spread your hearts and hands abroad,
And pray for Sion’s peace;
Your guides, and brethren, bear
For ever on your mind;
Extend the arms of mighty prayer,
In grasping all mankind.

From strength to strength go on,
Wrestle, and fight, and pray,
Tread all the powers of darkness down,
And win the well-fought day;
Still let the Spirit cry
In all His soldiers, Come!
Till Christ the Lord descends from high
And takes the conquerors home.

Words: Charles Wesley, 1741.

endued: endow or provide with a quality or ability (past tense)

Panoply: a complete set of arms or suit of armor.

Indissolubly: in a way that is impossible to take apart or bring to an end, or exists for a very long time.

Imputed: Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

greaves: a piece of armor used to protect the shin

Truth for Today #191

Friday June 12th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

1 John 2:28-29

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

From Maristella:

Romans 12:17-18.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

From Vera:

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

From Leonard:

 Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

From Karen:

James 1:22

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Life is Blooming Hodgepodge

It is once again time for Wednesday Hodgepodge with thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond. 

1.  How would you define ‘the good life’? 

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7

2.  What’s the most used app on your phone (and are you proud of that)? 

(WhatsApp) It is the app we use with the Mennonite Girls and also with our immediate family. It is easier to send videos and photos with this app than with text messages.

I’m proud of myself when I figure out how to use any app!!

3. ‘Every rose has it’s thorn’, ‘everything’s coming up roses’, ‘looking through rose-colored glasses’, ‘it’s no bed of roses’ or ‘stop and smell the roses’…which rose idiom best relates to something in your life currently. Explain. 

‘everything’s coming up roses’ (or peonies)

It’s a busy and good time of year with so much happening all at the same time including flowers blooming on our property. We’ve had performances, visitors, events, meals in, meals out, preparations for a community garage sale this coming weekend. Life is blooming!!

4. How do you feel about floral flavorings in food or drink (rose, hibiscus, elderflower, lavender)? 

No, thank you. Elderflower has been acceptable in the past.

5. Over the course of your life what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else? 

This is a tough one. It is not my habit to be introspective. I know I’ve laid awake at night pondering things but it has been a variety of things over the course of my life.

When I was young I remember pondering whether my parents would die and being sad about that prospect. They did die but not until they were in their 90’s so that was a waste of emotions.

In my teen years I probably pondered too much about myself and whether people or certain boys liked me. That was a waste of time and emotions, too.

I’ve spent a lot of time pondering what to make for dinner.

I’ve also spent a lot of time pondering what to do and see on any given trip we’ve enjoyed over the years.

In my older years, I’ve pondered how and why friends that I used to worship Christ with and who I’ve served Christ with have walked away in disobedience to His Word and how they have embraced the world and the ways and philosophy of this world.

Right now I’m pondering what else I should try to get rid of at the garage sale this Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The 2026 World Cup begins tomorrow. I’m excited and have set our DVR to record many of the games. We were at the last World Cup in the USA in 1994. This Cup I’ll be watching from home. Josh and Laura will be attending the USA v. Australia game in Seattle a week from this Friday!

img024

Dan and I were able to attend the Brazil v. Cameroon game at Stanford in 1994.

We have great memories from the ’94 World Cup and I’ll share more on another day. In between games, I’ll be working on the new 2026 World Cup puzzle our Josh and Laura gifted me.

My Song is Love Unknown ~Hymn

 

 

My Song is Love Unknown

My song is love un­known,
My Sav­ior’s love to me;
Love to the love­less shown,
That they might love­ly be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne
Salvation to be­stow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed for Christ would know:
But O! my friend, my friend in­deed,
Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet prais­es sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their king:
Then Cru­ci­fy! is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet in­ju­ries! Yet they at these
Themselves dis­please, and ’gainst Him rise.

They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A mur­der­er they saved,
The Prince of Life they slay,
Yet cheer­ful He to suf­fer­ing goes,
That He His foes from thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friend­ly tomb
But what a strang­er gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
But mine the tomb where­in He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
No sto­ry so di­vine;
Never was love, dear King!
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my friend, in whose sweet praise
I all my days could glad­ly spend.

Words: Samuel Crossman, 1664.

Truth for Today #190

Friday June 5th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

2 Timothy 1:8-12

Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

From Vera:

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” ‭‭

From Susanne:

Galatians 5:1 (AMP)

“In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].”

From Karen:

Isaiah 5:20

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

From Willow:

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13.

It was part of my Bible reading last night and has stuck with me all day, especially v. 13.