A Very Merry Christmas Day

Christmas Carol

Hallelujah! hark! from above
Angels come on their wings of love;
Loud hosannas welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Glory to God the choral strain;
Glory to God the sweet refrain;
Glory, glory, glory to God!
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Chiming, chiming, hark! ’tis the bells;
Joy to all now their music tells;
Floating onward, greeting the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Hallelujah! joyful we sing,
While we praise our exalted king;
Let our carol welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

Hallelujah tis done, I believe on the son, I’ve been saved by the blood of the crucified one.

O Precious Word ~ Hymn

O Precious Word

O precious word that Jesus said!
The soul that comes to Me,
I will in no wise cast him out,
Whoever he may be.
Whoever he may be,
Whoever he may be,
I will in no wise cast him out,
Whoever he may be.

O precious word that Jesus said!
Behold, I am the door;
And all who enter in by Me
Have life forevermore.
Have life forevermore,
Have life forevermore,
And all who enter in by Me
Have life forevermore.

O precious word that Jesus said!
Come, weary souls oppressed,
Come take My yoke and learn of Me,
And I will give you rest.
And I will give you rest,
And I will give you rest,
Come take my yoke and learn of Me,
And I will give you rest.

O precious word that Jesus said!
The world I overcame;
And they who follow where I lead
Shall conquer in My name.
Shall conquer in My name,
Shall conquer in My name,
And they who follow where I lead
Shall conquer in My name.

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1886.

O Church of God, Arise ~ Hymn

O Church of God, Arise!

O Church of God, arise!
Reach out thy helping hand,
And like a trumpet let thy voice
Go forth to ev’ry land;
Lay not thine armor down,
Nor cease by day or night,
To lift the sword of Gospel truth,
And wield it for the right.

Refrain

Then arise in thy glory, O Church of God, arise!
’Tis the dawn of the morrow that greets thy waiting eyes
But cloud and mist and shadow must all be rolled away.
But cloud and mist and shadow must all be rolled away.
Before the world will usher in the long expected day.

O Church of God, arise!
Thy borders wide extend,
And o’er the earth’s remotest bounds
Thy heralds quickly send;
Thine armies now are great,
But greater they must be,
For ev’ry nation, ev’ry clime
Shall yet rejoice in thee.

Refrain

O Church of God, arise!
The grand old choral strain
Of peace on earth, good will to man,
That rang on Judah’s plain,
O’er all the world shall ring,
And echo far and wide,
And then the King, thy Lord, shall come,
And claim His faithful bride.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby (1820-1915).

The Patriot’s Prayer, 9-11

Sisters wknd 016

The Patriot’s Prayer

God of our sires that joyful sang,
While forest shades triumphant rang,
When on the wild New England shore,
Their sails were furled, their voyage o’er.
O Lord, defend Thy children yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend Thy children yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.

God of the brave that sought Thy aid,
And in Thy robe of strength arrayed,
They won for us beneath Thy care,
The flag we prize, the peace we share,
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.

And when the call to arms again
Was heard afar o’er hill and plain,
Thy mighty hand upheld the right,
Thy love restored Thy banner bright,
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.

God of our land, Thy gift so free,
O hear the prayer we breathe to Thee;
Let union’s bond our souls entwine,
And guard alike the palm and pine.
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1905

Pictures27

Psalm 27:3-4 (ESV)

 Though an army encamp against me,
   my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
   yet I will be confident.

 One thing have I asked of the LORD,
   that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
   all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
   and to inquire in his temple.

The Simple, Earnest Prayer ~ Hymn

Bellefontaine 051

The Simple, Earnest Prayer

In the twilight of the morning,
When the shadows steal away,
And we wake from balmy slumber
To behold another day,
Let us go alone in secret,
And unburden all our care
At the feet of our Redeemer,
In the simple, earnest prayer.

Refrain

Let Thy presence, blessèd Savior,
Our protection ever be;
Give us strength for every trial,
Keep, oh, keep us close to Thee.

In the noontide, calm and peaceful,
When we pause awhile to rest,
Ere the sun in all its glory
Is declining towards the west;
In the midst of our temptation,
When the cross is hard to bear,
If we cannot go in secret,
God will hear the silent prayer.

Refrain

When the toils of day are over,
And we seek the hallowed place
Where by faith we meet our Savior,
And adore Him for His grace;
How we feel our burden lighter,
Till we loose our weight of care,
While we lift our hearts together
In the simple, earnest prayer.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

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

All the Way My Savior Leads Me ~ Hymn

Sunday-Banbury 053

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread;
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way.

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1875.

To God Be the Glory! ~ Hymn

To God Be The Glory

To God be the glory, great things He has done;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Refrain

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Refrain

Great things He has taught us, great things He has done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

Living in a land with freedoms is wonderful but the freedom that Christ gives us when we are pardoned from our sins is even more priceless. Thank you Lord!

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!

All the Way My Savior Leads Me ~ Hymn

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

All the way my Savior leads me
Who have I to ask beside
How could I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my guide

All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread
Gives me grace for every trial
Feeds me with the living Bread

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
O, the fullness of His love
O, the sureness of His promise
In the triumph of His blood
And when my spirit clothed immortal
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way
Jesus led me all the way

All the way my Savior leads me
All the way my Savior leads me

Words: Fanny Crosby

Opening Hymn

Alton to Cotswolds 146

Opening Hymn

Another Sabbath day has come,
Another week is o’er;
And we, a grateful, happy throng,
Are gathered here once more:
We meet to sing of Jesus’ love,
And bow to Him in prayer,
We meet to read His holy Word,
And learn our duty there.

Our Sunday school, our Sunday school;
No place on earth so dear!
How many precious souls have found
The way to glory here;
And now around the shining throne
They wait for us to come
And share with them the fadeless love
Of their eternal home.

Oh, may the seed thus early sown
Spring up on goodly ground,
And in our hearts, our souls and lives
May fruit of grace abound—
Immortal fruit, that yet shall bloom
In paradise above,
Where we, with those now gone before,
Shall sing redeeming love.

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1881.