Come, Ye Thankful People Hymn ...

Come, Ye Thankful People

Words: Henry Alford, Psalms and Hymns, 1844.

Music: St. George’s Wind­sor, George J. El­vey, 1858


Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field,
fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown
unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in
the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
in His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come,
bring Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
in Thy garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come,
raise the glorious harvest home.

This Lord's Day Eve ... Samuel Rutherford

Rev. Samuel Rutherford
(1600-1661)
One of the most influential
Scottish Presbyterians in the Westminster Assembly.

Christian Directions
by Rev. Samuel Rutherford

1. That hours of the day, less or more time, for the Word and prayer, be given to God;
not sparing the twelfth hour, or mid-day, howbeit it should then be the shorter time.

2. In the midst of worldly employments, there should be some thoughts of sin, death,
judgment, and eternity, with at least a word or two of ejaculatory prayer to God.

3. To beware of wandering of heart in private prayer.

4. Not to grudge if ye come from prayer without sense of joy. Downcasting,
sense of guiltiness, and hunger, are often best for us.

5. That the Lord's Day, from morning to night, be spent always either in private or public worship.

6. That words be observed, wandering and idle thoughts be avoided, sudden anger and
desire of revenge, even of such as persecute the truth, be guarded against; for we often
mix our zeal with our wild-fire.

7. That known, discovered, and revealed sins, that are against the conscience,
be avoided, as most dangerous preparatives to hardness of heart.

8. That in dealing with men, faith and truth in covenants and trafficking be regarded,
that we deal with all men in sincerity; that conscience be made of idle and lying words;
and that our carriage be such, as that they who see it may speak honourably of our
sweet Master and profession.

Friends, I know that I have posted this hymn previously but it is
one that I have come to love ...

The Sands of Time Are Sinking
by Rev. Samuel Rutherford

Notation: Anne R. Cousin in 1857 took Rutherford's ideas and composed this song based on his notes on Revelation 22:4. The original arrangement was set by Chretien Urhan in 1834, and then arranged for Cousin's song in 1867 by Edward F. Rimbault.

1. The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for -
The fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark had been the midnight
But dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

2. The king there in His beauty,
Without a veil is seen:
It were a well-spent journey,
Though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army,
Doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land

3. O Christ, He is the fountain,
The deep, sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

4. The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory
But on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth
But on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Emmanuel’s land.

5. O I am my Beloved’s
And my Beloved is mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner
Into His house of wine
I stand upon His merit
I know no other stand,
Not e’en where glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

Blessings to you and yours the Lord's Day eve!

Pam <><

Song's In The Night - This Lord's Day ...

"God, my Maker, who giveth songs in the night."

-- Job 35:10

“Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow-the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by-who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God's praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless he himself give me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon him for the music. O thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving.” ~~ CH Spurgeon

Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us

Lead us, Heavenly Father, lead us,

Over the world’s tempestuous sea;

Guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us,

For we have no help but thee;

Yet possessing every blessing,

If our God our Father be.

Saviour, breathe forgiveness over us,

All our weakness Thou dost know;

Thou didst tread this earth before us,

Thou didst feel its keenest woe;

Lone and dreary, faint and weary,

Through the desert thou didst go.

Spirit of our God descended;

Fill our hearts with heavenly joy;

Love with every passion blending;

Pleasure that can never cloy;

Thus provided, pardoned, guided,

Nothing can our peace destroy,

By James Edmeston -- 1791-1867

Father to Thy holy keeping

Humbly we ourselves resign;

Saviour who has kept our sleeping,

Make our workdays real as thine.

Blessed Spirit, living in us,

Chase the darkness of our night.

Till the perfect Day before us,

Breaks in everlasting Light.

By Henry Edward Bickersteth -- 1825-1906

Have a Blessed Day in the Lord!

Pam <><

This Lord's Day ...

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil. 1:21 NKJV

"7) For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9) For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living." -- Rom. 14:7-9 NKJV

Christ, Of All My Hopes ...
Trinity Hymnal # 518

Christ, of all my hopes the ground,
Christ, the spring of all my joy,
Still in thee may I be found,
Still for thee my pow'rs employ.

Let thy love my heart inflame;
Keep thy fear before my sight;
Be thy praise my highest aim;
Be thy smile my chief delight.

Fountain of o'erflowing grace,
Freely from thy fullness give;
Till I close my earthly race,
May I prove it "Christ to live."

Firmly trusting in thy blood,
Nothing shall my heart confound;
Safely I shall pass the flood,
Safely reach Immanuel's ground.

Thus, O thus, an entrance give
To the land of cloudless sky;
Having known it "Christ to live,"
Let me know it "gain to die."

As you ponder this ask yourself -- "What is my bent?"

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Pam

This Lord's Day ...

AT THE LAMB'S HIGH FEAST WE SING

At the Lamb's high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious King,
Who hath washed us in the tide
Flowing from his pierced side;
Praise we him whose love divine
Gives his sacred blood for wine,
Gives his body for the feast,
Christ the Victim, Christ the Priest.

Where the paschal blood is poured,
Death's dark angel sheathes his sword;
Israel's hosts triumphant go
Through the wave that drowns the foe.
Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed,
Paschal Victim, Paschal Bread;
With sincerity and love
Eat we manna from above.

Mighty Victim from the sky,
Pow'rs of hell beneath thee lie;
Death is conquered in the fight,
Thou hast brought us life and light:
Hymns of glory and of praise,
Risen Lord, to thee we raise;
Holy Father, praise to thee,
With the Spirit, ever be.

Palm Sunday ...

All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Trinity Hymnal #235

"Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!"
John 12:13

All the glory, laud, and honor to Thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!
Thou art the King of Israel, thou David's royal Son,
Who in the Lord's name comest, the King and blessed One!

The people of the Hebrews with palms before Thee went,
our praise and prayer and anthems before Thee we present;
to Thee, before Thy passion, they sang their hymns of praise;
to Thee, now high exalted, our melody we raise.

Thou dids't accept their praises; accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest, Thou good and gracious King!
All glory, laud and honor to Thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!

A Hymn for The Lord's Day

My Times Are In Thy Hand
Trinity Hymnal

My times are in thy hand;
My God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul, I leave
Entirely to thy care.

My times are in thy hand;
Whatever they may be;
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,
As best may seem to thee.

My times are in thy hand;
Why should I doubt or fear?
My Father's hand will never cause
His child a needless tear.

My times are in thy hand;
Jesus the Crucified;
Those hands my cruel sins had pierced
Are now my guard and guide.