The Cross of My Redeemer ~ Hymn

The Cross of My Redeemer

On Calvary’s distant mountain
The cross of faith I see,
Where once the Lord of glo­ry
Was cru­ci­fied for me.

Refrain

The cross of my Re­deem­er,
O may I still defend,
And through the grace He giveth
Be faithful to the end.

As on that cross extended,
He suffered, bled and died,
To sinful thoughts and pleasures
May I be cru­ci­fied.

Refrain

He bore that cross with patience;
Through sorrow dark and sin,
He bids me now, be­liev­ing,
Take up my cross for Him.

Refrain

Had I no foes to conquer
No cross on earth to bear,
A victor’s crown of triumph,
I could not hope to wear.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, (1820-1915)

At the Breaking of the Day ~ Hymn

AT the Breaking of the Day

Oh, how oft amid our la­bor
Do we think of what will be
When the boat shall drop its an­chor
In the ha­ven o’er the sea!
And our hearts, with joy ex­pand­ing,
From our tri­als look away,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Refrain

At the break­ing of the day,
When we an­chor on the shore,
At the break­ing of the day,
When the storms of life are o’er,
When our sor­row and our sigh­ing,
Like a dream will pass away,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Oh, how oft amid the con­flict
And the bat­tle raging high,
With a faith as clear as noon­day
We behold the vic­to­ry nigh,
And we know that with the right­eous
We shall stand in bright ar­ray,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Refrain

Endless praise to our Re­deem­er
For His all aton­ing love,
That pre­pares for us a man­sion
And a crown of life above,
Where our eyes shall see the beau­ty
Of the flow’rs that ne’er de­cay,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1891.

O How I Love Jesus ~ Hymn

O How I Love Jesus

There is a name I love to hear,
I love to speak its worth;
It sounds like mu­sic in mine ear,
The sweet­est name on earth.

Refrain

O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
Because He first loved me!

It tells me of a Sav­ior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His pre­cious blood,
The sin­ner’s per­fect plea.

Refrain

It tells me of a Fa­ther’s smile
Beaming up­on His child;
It cheers me through this lit­tle while,
Through de­sert, waste, and wild.

Refrain

It tells me what my Fa­ther hath
In store for ev­ery day,
And though I tread a dark­some path,
Yields sun­shine all the way.

Refrain

It tells of One whose lov­ing heart
Can feel my deep­est woe;
Who in my sor­row bears a part,
That none can bear be­low.

Refrain

It bids my tremb­ling heart re­joice;
It dries each ris­ing tear;
It tells me, in a still small voice,
To trust and ne­ver fear.

Refrain

Jesus, the name I love so well,
The name I love to hear!
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart con­ceive how dear.

Refrain

This name shall shed its frag­rance still
Along this thor­ny road,
Shall sweet­ly smooth the rug­ged hill
That leads me up to God.

Refrain

And there, with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sor­row free,
I’ll sing the new eter­nal song
Of Je­sus’ love to me.

Refrain

Jesus Lives! O Day of Days!

Christ Is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

Khristos voskrese!    Voistinu voskrese!

Христос воскрес!
воистину воскрес!

Blessings to all on this Glorious Easter Day!

Jesus Lives! O Day of Days!

Jesus lives! O day of days!
Glad we bring our grate­ful praise;
He is ris­en! Gone the gloom,
Angels sit with­in the tomb.
Vain the taunt of Jew de­ny­ing,
Vain the vaunt o’er Je­sus dy­ing,
Heav’nly voic­es, from the grave,
Now pro­claim His pow­er to save.

Refrain

He is ris­en! Come and see,
How He tri­umphed migh­ti­ly!
Conqueror thus o’er all His foes,
Jesus from the dead arose.

Lord and Pro­phet, spake He not?
Have ye His own words for­got,
Telling, while in Ga­li­lee,
Thus the vic­to­ry should be?
How through scorn and dire af­flic­tion,
Thorny way and cru­ci­fix­ion,
Vanquished death, and rent the grave—
Christ the King should live to save.

Refrain

Tearful to the se­pul­cher
Mary comes in grief and fear;
Sees the stone now rolled away,
Hears the wait­ing an­gels say:
Why the dead among the liv­ing
Seek ye?
 Lo! The Lord life-giv­ing
Rises, vain the watch, the grave:
Prince of Life, He lives to save!

Refrain

Welcome then, the day of days!
Lord, ’tis Thine our tune­ful praise;
Thine, for us, the Tempt­ed, Tried,
Thine, for us, the Cru­ci­fied;
Thine for us the Re­sur­rect­ion,
Thine the Life, the Sure Pro­tect­ion.
Savior! So­ve­reign ov­er the grave,
May we know Thy pow­er to save.

He is ris­en! joy­ful­ly,
Lord! we raise our song to Thee,
Conqueror thus o’er all His foes,
Jesus from the dead arose.

Words: George D. Wildes, 1871.

Easter Visits Earth Again ~ Hymn

 

Easter Visits Earth Again

Easter visits earth again,
In the solemn spring;
Blossoms brighten hill and glen,
Notes of joy sweetly ring.

Refrain

Hail Him, vic­to­ri­ous,
King of love, throned above;
Tell the news o’er and o’er,
While the years go by:
Make His praise glo­ri­ous;
Sing again, earth and sky;
Tell the news ev­er­more,
Our Je­sus lives on high.

Every flower that lifts its head,
Breathes a message bright;
He is ris­en from the dead;
Happy day, day of light!

Refrain

Tell the story of the spring
With triumphant voice:
Jesus reigns, exalted King,
In His grace, we rejoice.

Refrain

Words: Eliza E. Hewitt, 1916.

Easter Carol ~ Hymn

Easter Carol

Oh, the gladness and the glo­ry
Of the tender East­er story,
Christ is ris­en! Christ is ris­en!
Do you hear the angels say?
All the bells triumphant ring it,
All the choirs celestial sing it,
And the gentle zephyrs wing it
Thro’ the skies this sacred day.

Oh, the wondrous transformation,
Working out the world’s sal­va­tion!
Christ, the cru­ci­fied Re­deem­er,
Once consigned to darkest gloom,
Changing shadow into splendor,
With His love so sweet and tender,
Son of God, our true defender,
Rising deathless from the tomb.

Oh, the light of East­er morning,
All the earth and sky adorning!
Oh, how restful, how refreshing
Is its sacredness and love!
On my heart its peace is stealing,
Like a gentle balm of healing,
Christ, my ris­en Lord, revealing,
Throned in majesty above.

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1892.

Again the Lord of Light and Life ~ Hymn

Again the Lord of Light and Life

Again the Lord of light and life
Awakes the kindling ray,
Unseals the eyelids of the morn,
And pours increasing day.

O what a night was that which wrapped
The heathen world in gloom!
O what a Sun which rose this day
Triumphant from the tomb!

This day be grateful homage paid,
And loud hosannas sung;
Let gladness dwell in every heart,
And praise on every tongue.

Ten thousand different lips shall join
To hail this welcome morn,
Which scatters blessings from its wings
To nations yet unborn.

Jesus, the friend of human kind,
With strong compassion moved,
Descended like a pitying God,
To save the souls He loved.

The powers of darkness leagued in vain
To bind His soul in death;
He shook their kingdom when He fell,
With His expiring breath.

Not long the toils of hell could keep
The Hope of Judah’s line;
Corruption never could take hold
On aught so much divine.

And now His conquering chariot wheels
Ascend the lofty skies;
While broke beneath his powerful cross,
Death’s iron scepter lies.

Exalted high at God’s right hand,
And Lord of all below;
Thro’ Him is pardoning love dispensed,
And boundless blessings flow.

And still for erring, guilty man
A brother’s pity flows;
And still His bleeding heart is touched
With memory of our woes.

To Thee, my Savior and my king,
Glad homage let me give;
And stand prepared, like Thee, to die,
With Thee that I might live.

Words: Anna L. Barbauld, (1743-1825).

There are so many beautiful hymns for Easter that I’m starting early and will probably go later in posting them. Thank you Jesus for all your sacrifices for us!

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light triumphant breaks;
When beauty gilds the eastern hills,
And life to joy awakes.

Not as of old a little child
To bear, and fight, and die,
But crowned with glory like the sun
That lights the morning sky.

O brighter than the rising morn
When He, victorious, rose,
And left the lonesome place of death,
Despite the rage of foes.

O brighter than that glorious morn
Shall this fair morning be,
When Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
And we His face shall see.

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And earth’s dark night is past;
O haste the rising of that morn,
The day that aye shall last.

And let the endless bliss begin,
By weary saints foretold,
When right shall triumph over wrong,
And truth shall be extolled.

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light and beauty brings:
Hail, Christ the Lord! Thy people pray,
Come quickly, King of kings.

Words: Unknown au­thor; trans­lat­ed from Greek to Eng­lish by John Brown­lie in Hymns of the Russ­ian Church, 1907.

ht: cyberhymnal

How Sweet and Awful is the Place ~ Hymn

How Sweet and Awful is the Place

How sweet and awful is the place
With Christ with­in the doors,
While ev­er­last­ing love dis­plays
The choic­est of her stores!

Here ev­ery bow­el of our God
With soft com­pass­ion rolls;
Here peace and par­don bought with blood
Is food for dy­ing souls.

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to ad­mire the feast,
Each of us cry, with thank­ful tongues,
“Lord, why was I a guest?

Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And en­ter while there’s room,
When thou­sands make a wretch­ed choice,
And ra­ther starve than come?

’Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweet­ly forced us in;
Else we had still re­fused to taste,
And per­ished in our sin.

Pity the na­tions, O our God!
Constrain the earth to come;
Send Thy vic­to­ri­ous Word abroad,
And bring the stran­gers home.

We long to see Thy church­es full,
That all the chos­en race
May with one voice, and heart and soul,
Sing Thy re­deem­ing grace.

My Fortress

“Battle Hymn of the Reformation”

Psalm 18:1-3:

I love you, O LORD, my strength.

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Are you feeling weak or discouraged or overwhelmed? I hope you can take some time to just breath in the words of this Psalm. Read it out loud and look with me at the definitions of some of the words in the text.

Stronghold: A place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack.
A place where a particular cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld.

Fortress: a large fortified place; a fort or group of forts, often including a town; citadel.
Any place of exceptional security; stronghold.

Shield: To cover with, or as with, a shield; to cover from danger; to defend; to protect from assault or injury.

Call upon the Lord today. Praise him because he is worthy of all our praise. Rest in the fact that He is our Rock and our deliverer. He is always with us, guiding us through His Spirit within us.

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Words and Music: Martin Luther, 1529.

This song has been called the great­est hymn of the great­est man of the great­est per­i­od of Ger­man his­to­ry, and the Bat­tle Hymn of the Re­for­ma­tion. It was sung at the fun­er­al of Am­er­i­can pre­si­dent Dwight Ei­sen­how­er at the Na­tion­al Ca­thed­ral in Wash­ing­ton, DC, March 1969.