Sunday Hymn - Now Why This Fear

This has been in my head this morning, especially the chorus.



VERSE 1
Now why this fear and unbelief?
Has not the Father put to grief
His spotless Son for us?
And will the righteous Judge of men
Condemn me for that debt of sin
Now canceled at the cross?

CHORUS
Jesus, all my trust is in Your blood
Jesus, You’ve rescued us
Through Your great love

VERSE 2
Complete atonement You have made
And by Your death have fully paid
The debt Your people owed
No wrath remains for us to face
We’re sheltered by Your saving grace
And sprinkled with Your blood

BRIDGE
How sweet the sound of saving grace
How sweet the sound of saving grace
Christ died for me

VERSE 3
Be still my soul and know this peace
The merits of your great high priest
Have bought your liberty
Rely then on His precious blood
Don’t fear your banishment from God
Since Jesus sets you free

© 2011 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)

Sunday Hymn - Holy God We Praise Thy Name

Holy God, we praise Thy Name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee!
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in Heaven above adore Thee;
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.

Hark! the loud celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising,
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising;
Fill the heavens with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord.

Lo! the apostolic train
Join the sacred Name to hallow;
Prophets swell the loud refrain,
And the white robed martyrs follow;
And from morn to set of sun,
Through the Church the song goes on.

Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name Thee;
While in essence only One,
Undivided God we claim Thee;
And adoring bend the knee,
While we own the mystery.

Thou art King of glory, Christ:
Son of God, yet born of Mary;
For us sinners sacrificed,
And to death a tributary:
First to break the bars of death,
Thou has opened Heaven to faith.

From Thy high celestial home,
Judge of all, again returning,
We believe that Thou shalt come
In the dreaded doomsday morning;
When Thy voice shall shake the earth,
And the startled dead come forth.

Therefore do we pray Thee, Lord:
Help Thy servants whom, redeeming
By Thy precious blood out-poured,
Thou hast saved from Satan’s scheming.
Give to them eternal rest
In the glory of the blest.

Spare Thy people, Lord, we pray,
By a thousand snares surrounded:
Keep us without sin today,
Never let us be confounded.
Lo, I put my trust in Thee;
Never, Lord, abandon me.

The verses in italics are the ones I know from the hymnal we use. I left the other ones because I think they have a lot to say too.

Sunday Hymn - Be Still My Soul

I've been thinking about grief this week so this hymn seemed appropriate.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy 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 dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening 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 blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

---

Sunday Hymn - "Come, We that Love the Lord"

Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord,
Join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround the throne.

Refrain

We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

The sorrows of the mind
Be banished from the place;
Religion never was designed
Religion never was designed,
To make our pleasures less,
To make our pleasures less.

Refrain

Let those refuse to sing,
Who never knew our God;
But favorites of the heavenly King,
But favorites of the heavenly King
May speak their joys abroad,
May speak their joys abroad.

Refrain

There we shall see His face,
And never, never sin!
There, from the rivers of His grace,
There, from the rivers of His grace,
Drink endless pleasures in,
Drink endless pleasures in.

Refrain

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Or walk the golden streets,
Or walk the golden streets.

Refrain

Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry;
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
To fairer worlds on high,
To fairer worlds on high.

Refrain

I was reminded of this hymn when I read a prayer from The Valley of Vision - "First Day Morning".

"Let us fix our minds on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..." Heb. 12:1

"O Lord,

We commune with thee every day,

   but week days are worldly days,

   and secular concerns reduce heavenly impressions.

We bless thee therefore for the day sacred to our souls

   when we can wait upon thee and be refreshed;

We thank thee for the institutions of religion

   by use of which we draw near to thee and thou to us;

We rejoice in another Lord's Day

   when we call off our minds from the cares of the world

   and attend upon thee without distraction;

Let our retirement be devout,

   our conversation edifying,

   our reading pious,

   our hearing profitable,

     that our souls may be quickened and elevated.

We are going to the house of prayer,

   pour upon us the spirit of grace and supplication;

We are going to the house of praise,

   awaken in us every grateful and cheerful emotion;

We are going to the house of instruction,

   give testimony to the Word preached,

   and glorify it in the hearts of all who hear;

   may it enlighten the ignorant,

       and awaken the careless, reclaim the wandering,

       establish the weak, comfort the feeble-minded,

       make ready a people for their Lord.

Be a sanctuary to all who cannot come,

Forget not those who never come,

And do thou bestow upon us

   benevolence towards our dependents,

   forgiveness towards our enemies,

   peaceableness towards our neighbours,

   openness towards our fellow-Christians.

Sunday Hymn - Palm Sunday - Rejoice the Lord is King

Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore;
mortals, give thanks and sing,
and triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart,
lift up your voice; rejoice;
again I say, rejoice.

Jesus the Savior reigns,
the God of truth and love;
when he had purged our stains,
he took his seat above.
Lift up your heart,
lift up your voice; rejoice,
again I say, rejoice.

His kingdom cannot fail;
he rules o'er earth and heaven;
the keys of earth and hell
are to our Jesus given.
Lift up your heart,
lift up your voice; rejoice,
again I say, rejoice.

Rejoice in glorious hope!
Jesus the Judge shall come,
and take his servants up
to their eternal home.
We soon shall hear
th'archangel's voice; the trump of God
shall sound, rejoice!

Sunday Hymn - O Worship the King

O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;
Established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love!
While angels delight to worship Thee above,
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall all sing Thy praise.

When We Pray for Others

This came from Jean's blog.

"When we pray for others,

the Spirit of God works

in the unconscious domain

of their being that we know nothing about,

and the one we are praying for knows nothing about,

but after the passing of time,

the conscious life of the one prayed for

begins to show signs of unrest and disquiet.



We may have spoken until we are worn out,

but have never come anywhere near,

and we have given up in despair.



But if we have been praying,

we find on meeting them one day

that there is the beginning of a softening in an inquiry

and a desire to know something.



It is that kind of intercession

that does most damage to Satan's kingdom.



It is so slight, so feeble in its initial stages

that if reason is not wedded to the light of the Holy Spirit,

we will never obey it,

and yet it is that kind of intercession

that the New Testament places most emphasis on."

~~Oswald Chambers

Sunday Hymn - I Will Sing of My Redeemer

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Refrain

Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

Refrain

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

Refrain

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

Refrain

Letter to a Young Seminarian

I just came across this article and thought it was worth sharing. "What would you say to my husband if you were a young seminarian again?" I don't think it applies only to seminary students - all families should consider each of these points. He talks about pastoral ministry but again, it can be applied to every family's situation.

Next summer, our oldest will leave his teens and I'll have one teenager and one pre-teen in the family. It goes quickly. As we watch all the little ones at church, we realize just how quickly it goes. You will never regret spending more time with your children. I especially liked his point about discipline.

" discipline more with honey and not only the rod. I would seek to help them understand that obedience really is better and leads to greater blessings, more “treats,” if you will.``

Sunday Hymn - Be Thou My Vision

On this first Sunday in January, this seems like an appropriate hymn to sing and meditate on.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Advent poem

Luci Shaw's advent poem, "Mary's Song":

Blue homespun and the bend of my breast
keep warm this small hot naked star
fallen to my arms. (Rest …
you who have had so far to come.)
Now nearness satisfies
the body of God sweetly. Quiet he lies
whose vigor hurled a universe. He sleeps
whose eyelids have not closed before.
His breath (so slight it seems
no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps
to sprout a world. Charmed by doves' voices,
the whisper of straw, he dreams,
hearing no music from his other spheres.
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes
he is curtailed who overflowed all skies,
all years. Older than eternity, now he
is new. Now native to earth as I am, nailed
to my poor planet, caught
that I might be free, blind in my womb
to know my darkness ended,
brought to this birth for me to be new-born,
and for him to see me mended
I must see him torn.

Encouragement from Spurgeon - Prayer

“Friend, go up higher.”
Luke 14:10

When first the life of grace begins in the soul, we do indeed draw near to God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul conscious of guilt, and humbled thereby, is overawed with the solemnity of its position; it is cast to the earth by a sense of the grandeur of Jehovah, in whose presence it stands. With unfeigned bashfulness it takes the lowest room.

But, in after life, as the Christian grows in grace, although he will never forget the solemnity of his position, and will never lose that holy awe which must encompass a gracious man when he is in the presence of the God who can create or can destroy; yet his fear has all its terror taken out of it; it becomes a holy reverence, and no more an overshadowing dread. He is called up higher, to greater access to God in Christ Jesus. Then the man of God, walking amid the splendours of Deity, and veiling his face like the glorious cherubim, with those twin wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, will, reverent and bowed in spirit, approach the throne; and seeing there a God of love, of goodness, and of mercy, he will realize rather the covenant character of God than his absolute Deity. He will see in God rather his goodness than his greatness, and more of his love than of his majesty. Then will the soul, bowing still as humbly as aforetime, enjoy a more sacred liberty of intercession; for while prostrate before the glory of the Infinite God, it will be sustained by the refreshing consciousness of being in the presence of boundless mercy and infinite love, and by the realization of acceptance “in the Beloved.” Thus the believer is bidden to come up higher, and is enabled to exercise the privilege of rejoicing in God, and drawing near to him in holy confidence, saying, “Abba, Father.”

“So may we go from strength to strength,
And daily grow in grace,
Till in thine image raised at length,
We see thee face to face.”
(emphasis added)

Christmas Cookies

We found a great video about decorating Christmas cookies with royal icing. We tried it today and it worked really well.

I can't figure out how to embed the video so here is the link.

The directions for royal icing on the Chatelaine site are similar to most except they said to beat the icing for 3-7 minutes after adding the icing sugar. This gave a great texture to the icing. Then we added water to adjust how thick it was and decorated our cookies.

4th Sunday of Advent - Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

This is one of my favourite Christmas carols. Like many older hymns, the last verse points us forward.

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!

Sunday Hymn - Two Advent Hymns

I missed last week's Advent hymn so here are two:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six wingèd seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!






O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

Soft Gingerbread recipe

I was typing out this recipe for my son (who asked for it!) away at college and thought maybe I would post it here. It's from an old church cookbook on the centennial year of the Knox United Church in Manitowaning, Ontario,in 1962. Manitowaning is on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron - the largest freshwater island in the world! The recipes are handwritten and then mimeographed. Several recipes in the book are from my grandmother and great aunts. This recipe isn't one of them but it's a really good gingerbread. Serve with whipped cream or lemon sauce. Mmm... makes me hungry thinking about it.

Soft Gingerbread Recipe

1/2 c. white sugar
3/4 c. molasses
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 t. each of ginger, cinnamon and cloves
2 t. of soda dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water
2 1/2 c. flour
Mix together the sugar, molasses and butter. Add the spices to the flour; add to the mix with the water. Add two beaten eggs; mix in well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (check after 25 min - there's no time indicated on the recipe so I'm guessing a little. It will likely be 30-35 min but it depends somewhat on your oven too. Put a knife in and if it comes out clean and the cake springs back when you touch it, it is done.)

There were actually no instructions given other than to add the eggs at the end and no pan size. The detailed instructions are for my son so he'll know when it's done. I have made this in a 9x9 pan but it took a long time and was very high so now I make it in a 9x13 pan.

The Call to Spiritual Reformation - quotes

I've been reading Don Carson's The Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and his prayers. I can't recommend it highly enough. I'm reading through it fairly slowly, taking notes, so I can really absorb what he is saying but as it is, I'll need to go back and study each prayer again as I learn to pray through them.

I've been writing down some quotes from the book and meaning to put them up here - both as an encouragement to read the book and as an encouragement to think more deeply on these things.

p. 36 - "If we 'pray until we pray', eventually we come to delight in God's presence, to rest in his love, to cherish his will."

p. 44 - "... we must look for signs of grace in the lives of Christians and give God thanks for them."

"Do we make it a matter of praise to God when we observe evidence in one another of growing conformity to Christ?"

p. 53 - "That (Paul's prayer that God would count the Thessalonian Christians worthy of their calling) means these believers must grow in all the things that please God so that he is pleased with them and finally judges them to be living up to the calling that they have received."

p. 54 - "That cannot mean less than that we should become increasingly holy, self-denying, loving, full of integrity, steeped in the knowledge of God and his word, delighted to trust and obey our Heavenly Father."

p. 56 - "The truth is that unless God works in us and through us, unless God empowers these good purposes of ours, they will not engender any enduring spiritual fruit; they will not display any life-transforming, people-changing power."

p. 59 - "To think that rebellious, self-centered mortals become children of God, increasingly mirroring his character and one day enjoying the unclouded bliss of a perfect existence in the presence of the Triune God - this could not possibly be the fruit of our own endeavours. Rather, Christ is glorified, he receives the praise that is his due as we are glorified..."

p. 60 - "...everything he has asked for is available only on the basis of grace."

p. 62 - "... at the heart of all our praying must be a biblical vision. That vision embraces who God is, what he has done, who we are, where we are going, what we must value and cherish. That vision drives us toward increasing conformity with Jesus, toward lives lived in the light of eternity, toward hearty echoing of the the church's ongoing cry, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" That vision must shape our prayers, so that the things that most concern us in prayer are those that concern the heart of God."

First Sunday of Advent - Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

An instrumental version:


A choral version:

Sunday Hymn - Moment by Moment

Moment by Moment

Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine;
Living with Jesus, a new life divine;
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine,
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Refrain

Moment by moment I’m kept in His love;
Moment by moment I’ve life from above;
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Never a trial that He is not there,
Never a burden that He doth not bear,
Never a sorrow that He doth not share,
Moment by moment, I’m under His care.

Refrain

Never a heartache, and never a groan,
Never a teardrop and never a moan;
Never a danger but there on the throne,
Moment by moment He thinks of His own.

Refrain

Never a weakness that He doth not feel,
Never a sickness that He cannot heal;
Moment by moment, in woe or in weal,
Jesus my Savior, abides with me still.

Refrain

Sunday Hymn - Brethren, We have Come to Worship

I've just started reading A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson about prayer. This hymn was on this morning and it matches well with what Carson is saying about prayer.

Brethren, We Have Come to Worship

Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God;
Will you pray with all your power, while we try to preach the Word?
All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down;
Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.

Brethren, see poor sinners round you slumbering on the brink of woe;
Death is coming, hell is moving, can you bear to let them go?
See our fathers and our mothers, and our children sinking down;
Brethren, pray and holy manna will be showered all around.

Sisters, will you join and help us? Moses’ sister aided him;
Will you help the trembling mourners who are struggling hard with sin?
Tell them all about the Savior, tell them that He will be found;
Sisters, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.

Is there here a trembling jailer, seeking grace, and filled with tears?
Is there here a weeping Mary, pouring forth a flood of tears?
Brethren, join your cries to help them; sisters, let your prayers abound;
Pray, Oh pray that holy manna may be scattered all around.

Let us love our God supremely, let us love each other, too;
Let us love and pray for sinners, till our God makes all things new.
Then He’ll call us home to Heaven, at His table we’ll sit down;
Christ will gird Himself and serve us with sweet manna all around.

A few versions:







This one takes me back! Remember how low the bass can go?


This hymn is apparently very popular and well-known. There are lots of versions on youtube, unlike some of the other hymns I've posted.