Putting your faith to work
Poem II, At Entering Into the Church FATHER of love, to thee I bendMy heart, and lift mine eyes;O let my pray’r and praise ascend As odours to the skies Thy pard’ning voice I come to hear, To know thee as thou art:Thy ministers can reach the ear,But thou must touch the heart. O stamp … Read more
POEM I Refining Father, make me clean, On me thy costly pearl bestow: Thou art thyself the pearl I prize, The only joy I seek below. Disperse the clouds that damp my soul, And make my heart unfit for thee: Cast me not off, but seal me now Thine own peculiar property. Look on the … Read more
I’m embarking on a new project today, one that I hope I will see through to completion. In my library I have a number of hymnals, some more current than others, as well as a handful of books with the hymns of specific hymnwriters, but none for one of my favorite writers, Augustus Toplady. I … Read more
A hymn on prayer, with no author listed, published in the Psalmist. A great reminder on when, where, how, and for whom we are to pray. Go when the morning shinethGo when the noon is bright,Go when the eve declineth,Go in the hush of night;Go with pure mind and feeling,Fling earthly thought away,And, in thy … Read more
You may have heard of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, musicians from the late 1960’s through… (I’m showing my age, aren’t I?) Well, they have nothing on this group – Crosby, Steele, Toplady & Lyte, a group of hymnwriters from the 18th and19th centuries. Fanny Crosby, Anne Steele, Augustus Toplady, and Henry Francis Lyte wrote … Read more
I’m often asked what’s the big deal with hymns, especially the older ones from hundreds of years ago. There’s not always a good answer ready on my the tip of my tongue, but this one really helps explain it. Good hymns help us know, understand God. A good hymn takes a scriptural concept and puts … Read more
John Newton wrote these words, and Matthew Smith recorded the song on his album “All I Owe.” I’m not sure of the basis for Newton’s text, but it certainly has held true to form. What a great song of assurance in troubled time!