Hallelujah, ‘Tis Done

IMGP0992In my junior high and high school years I spent a week in the summer at Hume Lake Christian Camps. We would sing the chorus/refrain of this song at the Friday night campfire when someone would testify that they had been saved that week at camp. We would insert their name like this “Hallelujah, ’tis done, Ellen believes on the Son; She was saved by the blood of the crucified One;”

Hallelujah, ‘Tis Done!

’Tis the promise of God, full salvation to give
Unto him who on Jesus, His Son, will believe.

Refrain

Hallelujah, ’tis done! I believe on the Son;
I am saved by the blood of the crucified One;
Hallelujah, ’tis done! I believe on the Son;
I am saved by the blood of the crucified One.

Though the pathway be lonely, and dangerous, too,
Surely Jesus is able to carry me through.

Refrain

Many loved ones have I in yon heavenly throng,
They are safe now in glory, and this is their song:

Refrain

Little children I see standing close by their king,
And He smiles as their song of salvation they sing:

Refrain

There are prophets and kings in that throng I behold,
And they sing as they march through the streets of pure gold:

Refrain

There’s a part in that chorus for you and for me,
And the theme of our praises forever will be:

Refrain

Words and Music: Philip P. Bliss, 1874.

This was an great story that goes along with this song that I copied from Cyberhymnal:

“A minister from England, in telling of a certain meeting, says: Among the converts was a man somewhat advanced in years, who was very anxious about the salvation of his wife, and expressed a wish that I should visit her. I did so repeatedly, and explained to her in very simple words the plan of salvation, but she could not comprehend the meaning of my message. Every time I left, however, she would express a strong desire that I return. One day I went in just before dinner, and talked to her about Jesus, but no light seemed to dawn upon her mind. Then the thought struck me to sing something to her, and so I commenced, ’Tis the promise of God, full salvation to give. When I was through the chorus, she exclaimed Sing it over again. I did so, time after time, and when I asked her to assist me, she joined in very heartily. The light dawned on her dark mind while we were singing, the big burden of sin was removed from her heart, and her face was lighted up with holy joy as she exclaimed Hallelujah, ’tis done! I do believe in the Son; I am saved. Just then her husband walked in for his dinner, and she shouted out to him, Ah lad! I’ve got it! Hallelujah! ’tis done! Their hearts were full of joy over the wonderful discovery she had made, and I was grateful to God for a sinner brought to Christ by the ministry of holy song.

The Comforter Has Come ~ Hymn

skies barn 012

The Comforter Has Come

O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
The Comforter has come!

Refrain

The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from Heav’n, the Father’s promise giv’n;
O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found—
The Comforter has come!

The long, long night is past; the morning breaks at last;
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
The Comforter has come!

Refrain

Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,
To every captive soul a full deliverance brings;
And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings:
The Comforter has come!

Refrain

O boundless love divine! How shall this tongue of mine
To wondering mortals tell the matchless grace divine—
That I, a child of sin, should in His image shine!
The Comforter has come!

Refrain

Sing, till the echoes fly above the vaulted sky,
And all the saints above to all below reply,
In strains of endless love, the song that ne’er will die:
The Comforter has come!

Refrain

Words: Frank Bottome, 1890.

Rescue the Perishing ~ Hymn

I can remember driving to church on Sunday mornings with the radio tuned to a station that played a service at the Rescue Mission. This was the theme song that I remember so well being sung each week.

Fanny Crosby (1820-1915)

Sometime after [this] hymn became known I was at a ser­vice one even­ing and a young man told the sto­ry of his con­ver­sion. Poor and hun­gry, he had walked the streets for want of some­thing bet­ter to do. He heard the sing­ing at a mis­sion; he went in; and be­fore the serv­ice was con­clud­ed his heart broke in con­tr­ition.

“I was just rea­dy to per­ish,” he said to me, “but that hymn, by the grace of God saved me.”

Rescue The Perishing

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Refrain

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting,
Waiting the penitent child to receive;
Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently;
He will forgive if they only believe.

Refrain

Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.

Refrain

Rescue the perishing, duty demands it;
Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide;
Back to the narrow way patiently win them;
Tell the poor wand’rer a Savior has died.

Refrain

Jesus Is The Answer ~ Andrae’ Crouch

Jesus is the answer for the world today
Above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the way
Jesus is the answer for the world today
Above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the way If you have some questions
In the corners of your mind
And traces of discouragement
And peace you can not find

Reflection of the old past
They seem to face you every day
There’s one thing I know for sure
That Jesus is the way

I know you got mountains
That you think you can not climb
I know that your skies have been dark
You think the sun won’t shine
In case you don’t know

I’m here to tell you
That the Word of God is true, yeah
And everything that He’s promised
I tell you He would do it for you
Let me tell you that

I wanted to feature one of Andrae’ Crouch’s songs this Sunday since he just passed away January 8th. His songs in the 1970’s really served to strengthen my faith.
Through it All
Take Me Back
Soon and Very Soon
My Tribute
I Don’t Know Why
and more…

Morning Has Broken…

Sunrise january 005

Morning has broken,
like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken,
like the first bird
Praise for the singing,
praise for the morning
Praise for the springing
fresh from the word

Sunrise january 003

Sweet the rain’s new fall,
sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall,
on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness
of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness
where his feet pass

Sunrise january 004

Mine is the sunlight,
mine is the morning
Born of the one light,
Eden saw play
Praise with elation,
praise every morning
God’s recreation
of the new day

Words: Eleanor Farjean, children’s author and poet, 1881-1965.

Read about this wonderful hymn and it’s interesting history here. You might find the words familiar because of it’s international fame brought about by Cat Stevens’ recording in 1971.

Blessed be the name of the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised!

Psalm 113: 2-3

This particular sunrise greeted me on January 7th. I took the screen off our upper bedroom window to capture it in all it’s glory. Screens have a way of muddling the view. Hanging out the window in the cool of the morning to get some different angles before the beauty was gone in a flash was a wonderful way to become fully awake. Do you take screens off of windows to get a good shot?

Never Give Up ~ Hymn

 Never Give Up

Never be sad or desponding,
If thou hast faith to believe.
Grace, for the duties before thee,
Ask of thy God and receive.

Refrain

Never give up, never give up,
Never give up to thy sorrows,
Jesus will bid them depart.
Trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord,
Sing when your trials are greatest,
Trust in the Lord and take heart.

What if thy burdens oppress thee;
What though thy life may be drear;
Look on the side that is brightest,
Pray, and thy path will be clear.

Refrain

Never be sad or desponding,
There is a morrow for thee;
Soon thou shalt dwell in its brightness,
There with the Lord thou shalt be.

Refrain

Never be sad or desponding,
Lean on the arm of thy Lord;
Dwell in the depths of His mercy,
Thou shalt receive thy reward.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1903.

James 1: 2-4 ~ “Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

ht: Cyberhymnal

Shine Thou Upon Us Lord ~ Hymn

Shine Thou Upon Us Lord

Shine Thou upon us, Lord, true Light of men, today,
And through the written Word Thy very self display,
That so from hearts which burn with gazing on Thy face
Thy little ones may learn the wonders of Thy grace.

Breathe Thou upon us, Lord, Thy Spirit’s living flame,
That so with one accord our lips may tell Thy Name.
Give Thou the hearing ear, fix Thou the wandering thought,
That those we teach may hear the great things Thou hast wrought.

Speak Thou for us, O Lord, in all we say of Thee;
According to Thy Word let all our teaching be,
That so Thy lambs may know their own true Shepherd’s voice,
Where’er He leads them go, and in His love rejoice.

Live Thou within us, Lord, Thy mind and will be ours;
Be Thou beloved, adored, and served with all our powers,
That so our lives may teach Thy children what Thou art,
And plead, by more than speech, for Thee with every heart.

words by John Ellerton, 1889

O Come, All Ye Faithful

 

O Come, All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Refrain

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;

Refrain

Lo! star led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring,
Offer Him incense, gold, and myrrh;
We to the Christ Child bring our hearts’ oblations.

Refrain

Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger,
We would embrace Thee, with love and awe;
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Refrain

Words: John F. Wade, cir­ca 1743. Vers­es 1-3 & 6 trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by Fred­er­ick Oak­e­ley, 1841; vers­es 4 & 5 trans­lat­ed by Will­iam T. Brooke (1848-1917).

Music: Ades­te Fi­de­les, at­trib­ut­ed var­i­ous­ly to John Wade, John Reading, or Simao Portogallo (MI­DI, score).

ht: Cyberhymnal

Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming ~

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,
As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

O Savior, Child of Mary, who felt our human woe,
O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;
Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of Heaven,
And to the endless day!

Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)

Words: 15th Cen­tu­ry car­ol (Es ist ein Ros ent­sprung­en); vers­es 1-2 trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by // The­o­dore Bak­er, 1894. Verses 3-4, Fried­rich Lay­ritz, trans­lat­ed by Har­ri­et Rey­nolds Krauth, 1875. Verse 5, trans­lat­ed or writ­ten by // John C. Mat­tes, 1914.

Oh, Come, Little Children ~ Christmas Hymn

Oh, Come, Little Children

Oh, come, little children, oh, come, one and all,
To Bethlehem’s stable, in Bethlehem’s stall.
And see with rejoicing this glorious sight,
Our Father in heaven has sent us this night.

Oh, see in the manger, in hallowèd light
A star throws its beam on this holiest sight.
In clean swaddling clothes lies the heavenly Child,
More lovely than angels, this Baby so mild.

Oh, there lies the Christ Child, on hay and on straw;
The shepherds are kneeling before Him with awe.
And Mary and Joseph smile on Him with love,
While angels are singing sweet songs from above.

Words: Christoph von Schmid, 1794

I learned this song in Russian growing up and love to sing it today, too. The Russian words are different then the English translation but the ideas are the same.