Category Archives: Hymns

The Story That Never Grows Old ~ Hymn

The Story That Never Grows Old

O tell me the story that never grows old,
The story of One whom the prophets foretold;
The horn of salvation, the scepter and star,
The light in the darkness they saw from afar.

Refrain

It never grows old, it never grows old,
The story of Jesus will never grow old!

O tell me the story that never grows old,
The story the angel at Bethlehem told;
The Babe in the manger, of lowliest birth,
The highest archangel excelling in worth.

Refrain

O tell me the story that never grows old,
The story the Gospels repeat manifold;
The love and compassion in Jesus we trace,
The power and patience, the glory and grace.

Refrain

O tell me the story that never grows old,
The story the ages to come will unfold;
The kindness of God in redeeming the lost,
The death of our Savior in paying the cost.

Refrain

Words: James M. Gray, circa 1899.

The First Noel ~

The First Noel

The First Noel is unknown in origin but is generally thought to be English dating back to the sixteenth century. There is a misconception that the First Noel was French and it is believed that this is because of the French spelling of Noel as opposed to the olde English Anglo-Saxon spelling of the word as in Nowell. After England was captured by the Normans numerous words were adopted from the Norman French language and Noel was re-spelt as Nowell, early printed versions of this carol use the Nowell spelling. The First Noel was first published in 1833 when it appeared in “Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern,” a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys.

 

Hoping you experience the love of God today and everyday!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Rest of the Weary ~ Hymn

Rest of the Weary

Rest of the weary, joy of the sad,
Hope of the dreary, light of the glad;
Home of the stranger, strength to the end,
Refuge from danger, Savior and Friend!

Pillow where lying, love rests its head,
Peace of the dying, life of the dead:
Path of the lowly, prize at the end,
Breath of the holy, Savior and Friend!

When my feet stumble, to Thee I’ll cry,
Crown of the humble, cross of the high;
When my steps wander, over me bend
Truer and fonder, Savior and Friend!

Ever confessing Thee, I will raise
Unto Thee blessing, glory and praise:
All my endeavor, world without end,
Thine to be ever, Savior and Friend!

Words: John S. B. Monsell, Hymns of Love and Praise for the Church’s Year, 1863.

Lift Up Your Heads, Rejoice ~ Hymn

Lift Up Your Heads, Rejoice

Lift up your heads, rejoice, redemption draweth nigh;
Now breathes a softer air, now shines a milder sky;
The early trees put forth their new and tender leaf;
Hushed is the moaning wind that told of winter’s grief.

Lift up your heads, rejoice, redemption draweth nigh;
Now mount the laden clouds, now flames the darkening sky;
The early scattered drops descend with heavy fall,
And to the waiting earth the hidden thunders call.

Lift up your heads, rejoice, redemption draweth nigh;
O note the varying signs of earth, and air, and sky;
The God of glory comes in gentleness and might,
To comfort and alarm, to succor and to smite.

He comes, the wide world’s King, He comes, the true heart’s Friend,
New gladness to begin, and ancient wrong to end;
He comes, to fill with light the weary waiting eye;
Lift up your heads, rejoice, redemption draweth nigh.

Words: Thomas T. Lynch

This is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. The tradition is marked with an Advent Wreath and 5 candles. Each of the 4 Sundays a candle is lit with the 5th candle, the center candle being lit on Christmas Eve.

The first candle is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope (or in some traditions, Prophecy). This draws attention to the anticipation of the coming of an Anointed One, a Messiah, that weaves its way like a golden thread through Old Testament history.

My God, I Thank Thee ~ Hymn

My God, I Thank Thee

My God, I thank Thee, who hast made
The earth so bright,
So full of splendor and of joy,
Beauty and light;
So many glorious things are here,
Noble and right.

I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made
Joy to abound;
So many gentle thoughts and deeds
Circling us round,
That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain,
That shadows fall on brightest hours,
That thorns remain;
So that earth’s bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain.

For thou who knowest, Lord, how soon
Our weak heart clings,
Hast given us joys, tender and true,
Yet all with wings;
So that we see gleaming on high
Diviner things.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept
The best in store;
We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more:
A yearning for a deeper peace
Not known before.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls
Though amply blessed,
Can never find, although they seek
A perfect rest;
Nor ever shall, until they lean
On Jesus’ breast.

Words: Adelaide A. Procter, Legends and Lyrics, a Book of Verse, 1858.

Lord, We Thank Thee for the Pleasure ~ Hymn

Lord, We Thank Thee For the Pleasure

Lord, we thank Thee for the pleasure
That our happy lifetime gives,
For the boundless worth and treasure
Of a soul that ever lives;
Mind that looks before and after,
Lifting eyes to things above;
Human tears, and human laughter,
And the depths of human love.

For the thrill, the leap, the gladness
Of our pulses flowing free;
E’en for every touch of sadness
That may bring us nearer Thee;
But, above all other kindness,
Thine unutterable love,
Which, to heal our sin and blindness,
Sent Thy dear Son from above.

Teach us so our days to number
That we may be early wise;
Dreamy mist, or cloud, or slumber,
Never dull our heav’nward eyes.
Hearty be our work and willing,
As to Thee, and not to men;
For we know our soul’s fulfilling
Is in Heav’n, and not ’til then.

Words: Thomas W. Jez-Blake

Today our family is celebrating Thanksgiving early with a meal together. God is ever good to us and we’ll take time today and everyday to thank Him and praise Him. Blessings on your Sunday!

Grander Than Ocean’s Story ~ Hymn

 

Grander Than Ocean’s Story

Grander than ocean’s story,
Or songs of forest trees;
Purer than breath of morning,
Or evening’s gentle breeze;
Clearer than mountain echoes
Ring out from peaks above,
Rolls on the glorious anthem
Of God’s eternal love.

Dearer than any friendship
Our truest comrades show;
Stronger than all the yearning
A mother’s heart may know;
Deeper than earth’s foundations,
And far above all thought;
Broader than Heav’n’s high arches—
The love that Christ has brought.

Richer than all earth’s treasures,
The wealth my soul receives;
Brighter than royal jewels,
The crown that Jesus gives;
Wondrous the condescension,
And grace beyond degree!
I would be ever singing
The love of Christ to me.

Words: William F. Sherman 1826-1888

Sing to the Lord of Harvest ~ Hymn

Sing to the Lord of Harvest

Sing to the Lord of harvest,
Sing songs of love and praise;
With joyful hearts and voices
Your alleluias raise.
By Him the rolling seasons
In fruitful order move;
Sing to the Lord of harvest,
A joyous song of love.

By Him the clouds drop fatness,
The deserts bloom and spring,
The hills leap up in gladness,
The valleys laugh and sing.
He filleth with His fullness
All things with large increase,
He crowns the year with goodness,
With plenty and with peace.

Bring to His sacred altar
The gifts His goodness gave,
The golden sheaves of harvest,
The souls He died to save.
Your hearts lay down before Him
When at His feet you fall,
And with your lives adore Him,
Who gave His life for all.

To God the gracious Father,
Who made us “very good,”
To Christ, who, when we wandered,
Restored us with His blood,
And to the Holy Spirit,
Who doth upon us pour
His blessèd dews and sunshine,
Be praise forevermore!

Words: John S. B. Monsell, 1866

Like A River Glorious ~ Hymn

 

Like a River Glorious ~

Francis Ridley Havergal (1836 – 1879)

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the sun of love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do.
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

O Thou Who Makest Souls to Shine ~ Hymn

O Thou Who Makest Souls to Shine

O Thou Who makest souls to shine
With light from brighter worlds above,
Now send Thy glistening dew divine
On all who seek a Savior’s love!

Do Thou Thy benediction give
On all who teach, on all who learn,
That all Thy Church may holier live,
And every lamp more brightly burn.

Give those that teach pure hearts and wise,
Faith, hope, and love, all warmed by prayer;
Themselves first training for the skies,
They best will raise their people there.

O bless the shepherd, bless the sheep,
That guide and guided both be one—
One in the faithful watch they keep,
Until this hurrying life be done.

“Ye shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:15

Words: John Armstrong