Sunday's Hymn: 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 ev'ry nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child, and yet a King,
Born to reign in us for ever,
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.

Charles Wesley, 1744

Tune: Hyfrydol, Rowland Hugh Prichard, 1855

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving has been as happy as ours with many, many reasons to thank our God. This precious gift is my biggest reason to thank Him today.

Meet Murphy, who arrived last evening. He's a ten month old bundle of energy and affection who occasionally looks like this:

What a perfect reminder that "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5b).

Sunday's Hymn: God, in the Gospel of His Son

God, in the gospel of his Son,
Makes his eternal counsels known;
Where love in all its glory shines,
And truth is drawn in fairest lines.

Here sinners of a humble frame
May taste his grace, and learn his Name;
May read, in characters of blood,
The wisdom, pow'r, and grace of God.

The pris'ner here may break his chains;
The weary rest from all his pains;
The captive feel his bondage cease;
The mourner find the way of peace.

Here faith reveals to mortal eyes
A brighter world beyond the skies;
Here shines the light which guides our way
From earth to realms of endless day.

O grant us grace, Almighty Lord,
To read and mark thy holy Word;
Its truths with meekness to receive,
And by its holy precepts live.

St. 1-2, Benjamin Reddome, 1787

St. 3-5 alt. by Thomas Cotterill, 1819

Tune: Germany, William Gardiner's Sacred Melodies, 1815

Thankful Thursday

Today I've been thinking about how thankful I am for:

• a loving husband who shares my sorrows and joys
• a thoughtful daughter who helps me
• a sister who understands
• dear friends who encourage me
• and most of all, a Savior who redeemed me!

I am blessed.

Sunday's Hymn: O Splendor of God's Glory Bright

O Splendor of God's glory bright,
From light eternal bringing light,
Thou light of light, light's living Spring,
True Day, all days illumining:

Come, very Sun of heaven's love,
In lasting radiance from above,
And pour the Holy Spirit's ray
On all we think or do today.

And now to thee our prayers ascend,
O Father, glorious without end;
We plead with sovereign grace for pow'r
To conquer in temptation's hour.

Confirm our will to do the right,
And keep our hearts from envy's blight;
Let faith her eager fires renew,
And hate the false, and love the true.

O joyful be the passing day
With thoughts as pure as morning's ray,
With faith like noontide shining bright,
Our souls unshadowed by the night.

Dawn's glory gilds the earth and skies,
Let him, our perfect Morn, arise,
The work in God the Father one,
The Father imaged in the Son.

Ambrose of Milan, 340-397

Tr. compiled by Louis F. Benson, 1910

Tune: Winchester New, Musikalisches Handbuch, Hamburg, 1690

Thankful Thursday

Recent days have been difficult at Field Stone Cottage. We've had to say good-bye to a beloved member of our family, our sweet, loving Charlie. But in the midst of our grief, God is still so faithful and there is much to thank Him for. In the hard times of the last ten days, in His sovereignty, God has graciously guided us through the difficult decisions that had to be made. He gave, and continues to give, us much comfort through the most loving of friends and we are oh, so grateful to Him for that too. Finally, we thank Him for the sixteen years that we had Charlie to love and enjoy. We wouldn't trade that for anything!

Sunday's Hymn: When Israel Out of Egypt Went

When Israel out of Egypt went,
From people of a speech unknown,
The lord among his people dwelt,
And there he set his royal throne.

The sea beheld and fled away,
The Jordan's waters backward turned,
The lofty mountains and the hills
With trembling awe our God discerned.

What aileth thee, O troubled sea?
Thou Jordan, why thy riven tide?
Ye mountains and ye little hills,
Why thus dismayed on ev'ry side?

O tremble, earth, before the Lord,
In presence of Jehovah fear,
Beneath whose touch the flinty rock
Became a fount of waters clear.

Psalm 114, The Psalter, 1912
Tune: Abschied, Wenzel Mueller


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