Be Still My Soul!

Be still, my soul! the Lord is on your side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to your God to order and provide;

In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul! your best, your heav’nly friend

Thru' thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul! your God does undertake

To guide the future as he has the past;

Your hope, your confidence, let nothing shake;

all now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul! the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while he lived below.

Be still, my soul! when dearest friends depart

And all is darkened in the vale of tears,

Then shall you better know his love, his heart,

Who comes to soothe your sorrow and your fears.

Be still, my soul! your Jesus can repay

From his own fullness all he takes away.

 Be still, my soul! the hour is hast'ning on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still my soul! when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Lyrics by Kathrina von Schlegel (1752), translated from the German by Jane Borthwick (1855).

Sung to the tune, Finlandia

Sunday Hymn

We had a choir this past Sunday, three days before Christmas, along with other musicians—including me (on the pipes) and my wife (with snare drum) beginning the service prelude with “The Little Drummer Boy.”  The rest of the prelude were tunes by several flautists and then a duet with a trombone and piano.  The other musicians also accompanied the congregation during Christmas hymns. The choir sang a song between the sermon and Communion, which I thought had some very good lyrics, and which I wanted to share here.

Prepare

From Bethlehem, the House of Bread,

 A Child will come to lead us

His bed a place where sheep are fed,

The spotless Lamb called Jesus.

He comes for those who go astray, 

To gather and to feed them.

Let ev’ry heart prepare the way

To welcome and receive Him.

Jerusalem, the House of Peace,

Rejected and despised Him.

He led her people through the streets

Before they crucified Him.

Upon the cross, He died that day;

Our sin by blood forgiven.

The Lamb of God prepared the way

That leads us into heaven.

Eat the bread,

Drink the cup, 

Share the love.

Prepare your hearts to welcome Him;

The little Child, the Great I AM!

Come to the table pure in heart, 

Prepare to dine together, 

For soon the Lord will gather us

To live with Him forever.

Prepare to share the wedding feast

Prepared for us by Jesus

In His bright home, the House of Light

Where Christ the Lamb, the great I AM, 

The little Child will lead us; 

The Lamb of God will lead us.

Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray

Rise, my soul, to watch and pray; 

from thy sleep awaken!

Be not by the evil day 

unawares o'ertaken;

For the foe, well we know,

oft his harvest reapeth

while the Christian sleepeth.

Watch against the devil's snares, 

lest asleep he find thee;

for indeed no pains he spares 

to deceive and blind thee.

Satan's prey oft are they

who secure are sleeping 

and no watch are keeping.

Watch! Let not the wicked world 

with its pow’r defeat thee.

Watch lest with her pomp unfurled

she betray and cheat thee.

Watch and see, lest there be

faithless friends to charm thee, 

who but seek to harm thee.

Watch against thyself, my soul, 

lest with grace thou trifle;

let not self thy thoughts control

nor God's mercy stifle.

Pride and sin lurk within,

all thy hopes to scatter; 

heed not when they flatter.

But while watching, also pray

to the Lord unceasing.

He will free thee, by they stay,

strength and faith increasing.

Oh Lord, bless in distress

And let nothing swerve me 

from the will to serve thee.

Johann Burchard Freystein

Not What My Hands Have Done

Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers,
And sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin
Thy blood alone O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
Thy love to me O God,
Not mine, O Lord, to Thee
Can rid me of
This dark unrest,
And set my spirit free!

Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy power alone O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
No other work, save Thine,
No other blood will do,
No strength save that,
Which is divine,
Can bear me safely through.

I bless the Christ of God;
I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart,
I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt,
I bury in His tomb
My unbelief,
And all my fear,
Each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace,
I trust His truth and might
He calls me His, I call Him mine,
My God, my joy, my light
Tis He Who saveth me,
And freely pardon gives
I love because
He loveth me,
I live because He lives!

Horatius Bonar

Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive

“Forgive our sins as we forgive,”
You taught us, Lord, to pray;
But You alone can grant us grace
To live the words we say.

How can Your pardon reach and bless
The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let
Old bitterness depart?

In blazing light Your cross reveals
The truth we dimly knew:
How trifling others’ debts to us;
How great our debt to You!

Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls
And bid resentment cease;
Then, by Your mercy reconciled,
Our lives will spread Your peace.

Rosamond E. Herklots

Merry CHRISTmas

Born in a Barn (Stable)?

What About Joseph?

As with gladness men of old

Author: W. Chatterton Dix

As with gladness men of old

did the guiding star behold;

as with joy they hailed its light,

leading onward, beaming bright;

so, most gracious God, may we

evermore be led to Thee.

As with joyful steps they sped

to that lowly cradle-bed,

there to bend the knee before

Him whom heav'n and earth adore;

so may we with willing feet

ever seek Thy mercy-seat.

As they offered gifts most rare

at that cradle rude and bare;

so may we with holy joy,

pure, and free from sin’s alloy,

all our costliest treasures bring,

Christ, to Thee, our heav'nly King.

Holy Jesus, every day

keep us in the narrow way;

and, when earthly things are past,

bring our ransomed lives at last

where they need no star to guide,

where no clouds Thy glory hide.

In that heav'nly country bright

need they no created light;

Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,

Thou its Sun which goes not down;

there for ever may we sing

alleluias to our King.

More Odds and Ends

A good exegetical analysis of Hebrews vs Roman Catholic Eucharist Theology.  Part 1, part 2 and part 3.

Do not take Scripture out of context, nor allow anyone else to do so.

A Biblical Understanding of Race.

Should those teaching false doctrine be contacted before the saints can be warned? (Matthew 18:15). NO.

How Do We Explain the Depraved Thinking in Our Nation? Excellent commentary.

A good apologetic examination of someone’s attack on Scripture.

The Lutheran Church (LCMS) is courting apostasy.

Purgatory: The First of Many Reasons Why I Could Never Be Catholic

A Response to Shiny Happy People. This is in reference to Amazon Prime Video’s series on the Dugger Family. Some interesting thoughts about the situation, IBLP and Bill Gothard.

Regardless of what your church or books you read tell you, there are no more apostles! They existed only in the 1st century.

Why Hymns Matter.

A good apologetic for a culture wrapped up in sexual identity.

The Bible and Homosexuality. An excellent 6 1/2-minute video.

Creation care?

If your church is movie time, flee it. Here’s another example.

To Flee or Not to Flee: Is it Biblical to Flee Blue States?  Yes it is.

When you compromise Genesis, you can decide homosexuality is okay.

More problems with The Gospel Coalition.

The greed fostered by this “church” is unreal; it makes God into a puppet who can be controlled by how much money you donate!. To begin with, Christians do not tithe!!! That was an O.T. rule for Israel only, and it wasn’t just on income. Churches who use the word “tithe” instead of “gifts” or “offerings” (e.g.) are helping to foster this nonsense. 

And Satan laughs.