The New Song

(Photo by Andrew Neufeld) 

 

There is a song I want to sing--

Or want to learn to sing;

It is a song of praise to Thee,

Jesus, my Lord and King.

Oh teach me all its varied notes,

Its hidden melody,

Till I have learned to sing by heart,

This song of praise to Thee.

I want to sing, while yet on earth, 

The tender, thankful strain

Of saints, who gladly near Thy throne,

Make Thee their song's refrain.

For though I am not yet a saint,

And though my praises ring

From an encumbered earthly soul,

I love the strains to sing. 

And well I love, I know I love,

Though truly not as they,

Thee, blessed Jesus whom I praise

Feebly on earth to--day;

While there's a song I want to sing--

Or want to learn to sing;

A blessed song of love to Thee,

Jesus, my Lord and King.

~ from Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns 

   of the Christian Life

Something for Christ

Something for Thee! What shall it be?

Speak, Lord, Thy waiting servant hears,

Is it to do some mighty deed?

Is it some multitude to feed?

Is it to do mid pains and fears,

Something for Thee?

~ "Something for Christ" from Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns for the Christian Life.

Praise Him, Praise Him, Jesus Our Blessed Redeemer.

A Wish

Oh that with ready grace my heart could give

What God requires;

That there within it lived no grasping will

No fond desires.

It grieves, it pains me that I do not fly

O Christ, to Thee,

To lay this treasure at Thy feet, with sweet

Alacrity.

Yet take it from me; if I love it much

I love Thee more,--

But pity, as Thou takest, for it leaves

my heart so sore!

~ From Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life.

So Be It

So be it; 'tis Thy plan not mine,

And being Thine is good;

And God, my will shall yield to Thine

Ere it is understood.

So be it; I a child of dust

Will not oppose Thy way,

Move on, mysterious Will, I trust,

I love, and will obey.

So be it; and do Thou, my heart,

No childish questions ask,

Thou in God's counsels hast no part,

Crave not so hard a task.

 

So be it; yes, so be it, Lord,

No word have I to say--

O be Thy gracious Name adored--

I love and will obey.

~ From  Golden Hours, Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

I Love You, Lord & More Love to Thee

Rock of Ages

Complete in Him

"Ye are complete in Him." Col. 2:10

Complete in Him! oh, Lord, I flee,
Laden with this great thought, to Thee,
With tears and smiles contending, cry,
Are words like these for such as I?

Complete in Him! No word of mine
Is needed, Lord, to perfect Thine;
Wise Master-Builder, let Thy hand
Fashion the fabric Thou hast planned.

Complete in Him! I nothing bring,
Am an imperfect, useless thing;
But human eyes shall joy to see
What God’s dear hand shall add to me.

Complete in Him! Oh, longed-for day,
When my poor, sinful heart can say,
Naught in myself, for ruin meet,
In Jesus Christ I stand complete.

~ From Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns for the Christian Life

The School

We are scholars, nothing but scholars,
Little children at school,
Learning our daily lessons,
Subject to law and rule.

Life is the School, and the Master
Is the Man Jesus Christ;
We are His charity scholars,
His the teaching unpriced.
 

Slowly we learn all His patience
Is hourly put to the test:
But often the slowest and dullest,
He pities, and loves the best.
 

Still, we sit at the feet of our Master,
Very low at His feet,
Study the lessons He sets us,
Sometimes lessons repeat.
 

Some of the lessons are pleasant,
Pleasant and easy to learn;
The page of our task-book simple,
Simple and easy to turn.
 

But anon the reading is painful,
Studied ‘mid sighing and tears;
We stammer and falter over it,
Do not learn it for years.

Yet that is no fault of the Master;
All His lessons are good;
Only our childish folly
Leaves them misunderstood.

And still we go on, learning,
And learning to love our school;
Learning to love our Master,
Learning to love His rule.

And by and by, we children
Shall grow into perfect men,
And the loving, patient Master
From school will dismiss us then.

No more tedious lessons,
No more sighing and tears,
But a bound into home immortal,
And blessed, blessed years!

~ From Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

[Apparently the closing lines to this poem are found on Mrs. Prentiss' tombstone. ~mr]

Is it Well With Thee?

Yes, it is well! For while with anguish wild
I gave to God who asked him, my child,
He gave to me strong faith, and peace and joy;
Gave me these blessings when He took my boy.

He gave Himself to me; in boundless grace
Within my deepest depths He took His place;
Made heaven look home-like, made my bleeding heart
In all the grief of other hearts take part;
Brought down my pride, burnt up my hidden dross,
Made me fling down the world and clasp the cross.
Ah, how my inmost soul doth in me swell,
When I declare that all with me is well!

~ from Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

Lovest Thou Me?

 

 Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?

 

More love to thee, O Christ, More love to thee!

Hear thou the prayer I make On bended knee:

This is my earnest plea, More love, O Christ to thee,

More love to thee, More love to thee!

 

 

[A perfect medication for any day of our lives, but a particularly appropriate one for me after our sermon from John 21:15-17 yesterday. ~ mr]

To Be Like Thee

Oh Jesus Christ, in self-despair
I come to Thee! Hear Thou the prayer
Laid at Thy feet; I leave it there--
To be like Thee!

Turn out the darling bosom sin,
The love of self that rules within,
My earnest longing let me win--
To be like Thee!

O let me see Thy lovely face,
O let me hear Thy words of grace,
In Thine own image grow apace--
To be like Thee!

O Gentle, Sinless, Undefiled,
Ev'n in Thy Justice meek and mild,
Help me, Thy loving, longing child--
To be like Thee!

~ From Golden Hours, Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

Alas, and Did My Saviour Bleed?

God is For Me

"When I cry unto Thee then shall mine enemies turn back: 

This I know: for God is for me." -- Psalm 56:9

Turn back, mine enemy, unmoved

Thy wiles, thy snares I see;

Turn back, for when I cry to God

I know He is for me.

Thy day is over; I no more

Thy willing slave can be,

For I have learned to cry to God;

I know He is for me.

Hence with thy strong delusions, hence,

I parley not with thee,

But mid thy temptings cry to God,

I know He is for me.

Ah, if thou knewest as I know

The God to whom I flee,

Thou wouldst not think to gain mine ear;

I know He is for me!

~ From Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

Go and Tell Jesus

Oh, aching heart, oh, restless brain,
Go and tell Jesus of thy pain;
He knows thee, loves thee, and His eye
Beams with divinest sympathy.

Go and tell Jesus; human ear
Thy mournful story may not hear;
Keep nothing back, for thee He cares,
His patient heart thy burden bears.

Go and tell Jesus; well He knows
The human heart; its pangs, its throes;
He will not fail thee, He will be
Friend, Comforter, and Peace to thee.

 
Go and tell Jesus; never yet
Did He a breaking heart forget;
Press closely to His bleeding side,
There, there thou shalt be satisfied.

~From Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

Two Other Sisters

There were two contemporaries of Mrs. Prentiss, both women who loved Christ and loved to write about Him, both who touched the hearts of many as she did. Frances Havergal and Fanny Crosby never met, but each was an admirer of the other. I ran across a lovely verse that Miss Havergal wrote in a letter to her "blind sister over the sea." It's so beautiful and seemed very appropriate to copy here, on this blog dedicated to another woman of their era who was so like them:

Dear blind sister over the sea--
An English heart goes forth to thee.
We are linked by a cable of faith and song,
Flashing bright sympathy swift along
One in the East and one in the West,
Singing for Him whom our souls love best.
Singing for Jesus! Telling His love
All the way to our home above,
Where the severing sea, with its restless tide
Never shall hinder and never divide.
Sister, what shall our meeting soon be
When our hearts shall sing and our eyes shall see?

[How sweet is this? Surely it touches your heart as it does mine. ~ mr]

My Jesus I Love Thee

Only Jesus

Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus,

Shall become my wish and aim;

Now I make a sacred promise

That our wills shall be the same;

For my heart in sweet accord,

Cries, "Thy will be done," dear Lord.

There is One whom I am loving,

Loving early, loving late;

He o me my all has given,

All to Him I consecrate,

Thou Thy blood on me hast poured,

Let Thy will be done, dear Lord!

If what seems to be a blessing

Is not chosen, planned by Thee,

Oh deprive me of it, rather

Give me what is good for me;

Still Thy name shall be adored,

Where Thy will despoils me, Lord!

Let Thy will be done within me,

Through me, by me, ever done,

Done in life, in joy, in sorrow,

Till the victory is won,

Dying be in me restored,

When, how, where Thou wilt, dear Lord!

~ From Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

The Writing of "More Love to Thee"

"More Love to Thee" was written by Mrs. Prentiss during a time of great personal sorrow, following the loss of two children in a short period of time. For weeks Elizabeth was inconsolable. In her diary she wrote, "empty hands, a worn-out, exhausted body, and unutterable longings to flee from a world that has so many sharp experiences."

During this period of grief, Mrs. Prentiss began meditating upon the story of Jacob in the Old Testament. She noted how God met him in a very special way during his moments of sorrow and need. Elizabeth prayed earnestly that she too might have a similar experience. While she was meditating and praying one evening, these four stanzas were born--words that have since become a universal prayer for devout believers everywhere.

~ From Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions, by Kenneth W. Osbeck.

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Something for Christ (3)

Something for Thee! On bended knee,

Unseen, unknown by mortal eye,

My soul for other souls shall plead--

As Thou for me didst intercede.

Thy love can own a tear, a sigh,

Something for Thee!

Something for Thee! Yet if for me

It is a useless, crippled hand,

Let perfect patience mark my way:

Since they who silently obey

Are doing as Thy wisdom planned,

Something for Thee!

~ from Golden Hours: Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life.