Hark! The Church Proclaims Her Honor - The Lutheran Hymnal - #461

"Hark! The Church Proclaims Her Honor"
by Samuel Preiswerk, 1799-1871
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

1. Hark! The Church proclaims her honor,
And her strength is only this:
God hath laid His choice upon her,
And the work she doth is His.

2. He His Church hath firmly founded,
He will guard what He began;
We, by sin and foes surrounded,
Build her bulwarks as we can.

3. Frail and fleeting are our powers,
Short our days, our foresight dim,
And we own the choice not ours,
We were chosen first by Him.

4. Onward, then! For naught despairing,
Calm we follow at His word,
Thus through joy and sorrow bearing
Faithful witness to our Lord.

5. Though we here must strive in weakness,
Though in tears we often bend,
What His might began in meekness
Shall achieve a glorious end.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #461
Text: Ephesians 1:4
Author: Samuel Preiswerk, 1844
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1858
Titled: "Das ist Gemeine Staerke"
Tune: "Lobt den Herrn, die Morgensonne"
1st Published in: Evangelisches Choralbuch
Town: Halle, 1829

The Lutheran Hymnal - Awake My Soul And with the Sun - #536 - Bishop Ken

 Bishop Thomas Ken wrote many hymns, including "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow" and "All Praise to Thee, My God This Night."

"Awake, My Soul,And with the Sun"
by Thomas Ken, 1637-1711

1. Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth and joyful rise
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

2. Let all thy converse be sincere,
Thy conscience as the noonday clear;
Think how the all-seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thought surveys.

3. All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept
And hast refreshed me whilst I slept.
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,
I may of endless light partake.

4. Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew;
Guard my first springs of thought and will
And will Thyself my spirit fill.

5. Direct, control, suggest, this day
All I design or do or say
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

6. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Hymn #536
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 108:2
Author: Thomas Ken, 1695, cento, alt.
Composer: Francois H. Barthelemon, 1785
Tune: "Morning Hymn"

The Lutheran Hymnal - Jesus I Will Ponder Now - #140

"Jesus, I Will Ponder Now"
by Sigismund v. Birken
Translated by August Crull, 1845-1923

Tune - Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein - linked here

1. Jesus, I will ponder now
On Thy holy Passion;
With Thy Spirit me endow
For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
May the image cherish
Of Thy suffering, pain, and death,
That I may not perish.

2. Make me see Thy great distress,
Anguish, and affliction,
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And Thy crucifixion;
Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear and nails, did wound Thee,
How for man Thou diedst, O God,
Who with thorns had crowned Thee.

3. Yet, O Lord, not thus alone
Make me see Thy Passion,
But its cause to me make known
And its termination.
Ah! I also and my sin
Wrought Thy deep affliction;
This indeed the cause hath been
Of Thy crucifixion.

4. Grant that I Thy Passion view
With repentant grieving
Nor Thee crucify anew
By unholy living.
How could I refuse to shun
Every sinful pleasure
Since for me God's only Son
Suffered without measure?

5. If my sins give me alarm
And my conscience grieve me,
Let Thy cross my fear disarm,
Peace of conscience give me.
Grant that I may trust in Thee
And Thy holy Passion.
If His Son so loveth me,
God must have compassion.

6. Grant that I may willingly
Bear with Thee my crosses,
Learning humbleness of Thee,
Peace mid pain and losses.
May I give Thee love for love!
Hear me, O my Savior,
That I may in heaven above
Sing Thy praise forever.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #140
Text: Luke 18:31-34
Author: Sigismund v. Birken, 1653
Translated by: August Crull, 1923, alt.
Titled: "Jesu, deine Passion"
Composer: Melchior Vulpius, 1609
Tune: "Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein"

The Lutheran Hymnal - Glory Be to God the Father - Bonar - #244

 Glory Be to God the Father

"Glory Be to God the Father"
by Horatius Bonar, 1808-1899

1. Glory be to God the Father,
Glory be to God the Son,
Glory be to God the Spirit:
Great Jehovah, Three in One!
Glory, glory,
While eternal ages run!

2.Glory be to Him who loved us,
Washed us from each spot and stain;
Glory be to Him who bought us,
Made us kings with Him to reign!
Glory, glory,
To the Lamb that once was slain!

3. Glory to the King of angels,
Glory to the Church's King,
Glory to the King of nations;
Heaven and earth, your praises bring!
Glory, glory,
To the King of Glory sing!

4. Glory, blessing, praise eternal!
Thus the choir of angels sings;
Honor, riches, power, dominion!
Thus its praise creation brings.
Glory, glory,
Glory to the King of kings!

Hymn #244
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Revelation 19:1
Author: Horatius Bonar, 1866
Composer: Walter G. Whinfield, 1919
Tune: "Worcester"

The Lutheran Hymnal - Jesus I Live To Thee - #591

 591 Jesus, I Live to Thee

"Jesus, I Live to Thee"
by Henry Harbaugh, 1817-1867

1. Jesus, I live to Thee,
The Loveliest and Best;
My life in Thee, Thy life in me,
In Thy blest love I rest.

2. Jesus, I die to Thee
Whenever death shall come;
To die in Thee is life to me
In my eternal home.

3. Whether to live or die
I know not which is best:
To live in Thee is bliss to me,
To die is endless rest.

4. Living or dying, Lord,
I ask but to be Thine;
My life in Thee, Thy life in me,
Make heaven forever mine.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #591
Text: Romans 14:8
Author: Henry Harbaugh, 1850
Composer: Frederick A.G. Ousely, 1861
Tune: "Tenbury"

Non-Secrets of So-Called Dieting - Gathered from Various Sources

 

The only way fat leaves our bodies is by exhaling. Fat used for energy only goes out from breathing, so the diet hints are completely wrong. Put the laxatives back on the shelf. Sweat itself is no use, so leave the steam room alone for weight loss.

Fat eaten easily takes its place  in the body. Fat is not burned away in locations, like the triceps or abs, which people think are magical using the gym. The triceps machine is very popular for people sitting and looking up their latest smart-phone messages. 

Fat supplies come from all forms of milk, including cheese and "skim milk," which is almost as fatty as whole milk. Stare at the hoax at the grocery store. Cow juice is for growing calves.

Potatoes are quite low in nutritional value and extra fattening when fried. Potatoes are mostly eaten fried in the US, so look around at the obvious results. Arkansas has the added treat of sweet tea, biscuits, and gravy - a trifecta that only builds fat.

Many medical prescriptions only affect symptoms - not very well. Doctors joke  "It is good that  cold, cough, sinus, and flu medicines do not work, or a lot of people would die." Coughing moves bacterial settlements out of the lungs and into the stomach. Every medicine has its own warnings. 

When we get the big motorcycle rallies in NWA, the stores hide their cough medicine, because cough suppressants create a cheap, lasting high. Lots of sugar too, mmmm. 

Actual food - direct from the coolers and fridges - are real medicine. People gobble orange and lemon sugar candy in hopes of taming a cough. Those people are too full of sugar to eat oranges, apples, pineapples, grapefruit, berries, etc. Fresh fruits contain a wealth of real medicine.

Extra funny - there are new "medical" tablets which concentrate fruits and vegetables in expensive bottles, instead of us eating the original God-created medicines built into dozens of fruits and vegetables.

The best medicine for high blood pressure is getting rid of salt products:

1. Colas, fizzy water, soda pop.
2. Cheese.
3. More kinds of bread than one can imagine. Some breads are super salty.
4. Many forms of canned and frozen food, but not all of them. A can of beans can measure between 20 mg and 1,000 mg of salt per serving. 
5. If someone else cooked supper for you at the restaurant, fast food place, Schwan/Yelloh, pizza place, or frozen dinners at the store, the salt level is very high. Read the fine print and consider getting a ride home (just kidding). Our bodies fill up water because of the salt, which is bad for blood pressure, heart, and kidney issues. Once the salt level is lowered, the kidneys will release all that extra water. Yes, they have medicine to do that too, but it often flushes out electrolytes with the salt and causes problems, like extreme muscular weakness (sometimes solved with Fritos).

"Please come down and play with us. Grrrr, we mean purrrr."

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 24 - "Therefore we are all alike through faith in Christ. Although St. Peter has a stronger faith than I, it is still the same faith in Christ."

 

Complete Sermon ->Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity. Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue Raised from the Dead and the Woman with an Issue of Blood Healed; the Gospel and Christ. Matthew 9:18-26 

12. From this it further follows, when a Christian does good works and shows love to his neighbor, that he does not thereby become a Christian or pious, but before this is done he must have been a Christian and pious. He indeed does good works, but his good works do not make him a Christian.

The tree brings or yields good fruit, but the fruit does not make the tree good. So also here, no one becomes a Christian through his works, but through Christ.

13. From this you understand what kind of people Christians are, and what their kingdom is, namely, that they are a multitude that cling to Christ, and have one Spirit and the same gifts with him. And through this all Christians are equal, and no one has any more of Christ than another; St. Peter is no more than the thief on the cross; Mary the mother of God is no more than the sinner, Mary Magdalene. In external acts and works, of course, there is a difference among them, for the Virgin Mary had a greater work to do than Mary Magdalene, St. Peter a greater work than the thief on the cross.

This is the case when we reckon according to works; but by virtue of our works we are not Christians. The Virgin Mary is not a Christian on account of her great work that she bore in her body Christ, such a costly and inexpressible treasure, as Christ himself said to the woman, Luke 11:27-28, who cried aloud among the people to the Lord: “Blessed is the body that bore thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked.” “Yes, blessed are they,” said he, “who hear the Word of God and keep it.” Here you see he exalts believers above his mother. For Christians are called Christians because they believe in Christ. Virgin and mother are two very beautiful names, but they are nothing in comparison to the name of believers or Christians. Again, St. Paul is so proud, that in his Epistle to the Galatians, 2:6, he gives the office of the great and high apostles a reputation which amounts to little before God, except as it brings a blessing and is of service to others.

14. Therefore we are all alike through faith in Christ. Although St. Peter has a stronger faith than I, it is still the same faith in Christ. For his Father offers his Son Christ to the promiscuous crowd, and whoever receives him, gets the whole Christ, whether in weakness or in strength, it makes no difference. The woman in this Gospel who had been sick for a long time lays hold of Christ as well as Mary the Virgin, his mother did. Therefore Christians have the same Spirit, one is as high-born as another, St. Peter must call me his brother, and I can also call him my brother. Yea, Christ receives us unto himself and holds us as his brothers, as after his resurrection he said to Mary Magdalene: “Go unto my brethren and tell them, I ascend unto my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God.” John 20:17. And St. Paul calls Christ the first-born among many brethren, Romans 8:29. Of this he speaks very beautifully in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, 8:9-12, where he speaks of weak brethren thus: “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak. For if a man see thee who hast knowledge sitting at meat in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through thy knowledge he that is weak perisheth, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And thus, sinning against the brethren, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, ye sin against Christ.”

15. The summary of this entire Gospel is, that we learn to know Christ aright, and not only that we have the mere name, but know that we have all things from him. If we are Christians we have all things, and God is our Father, and we are lords of all things in heaven and on earth; this no work of ours can bring to pass, be it as great and costly as it may. Now you see how far they are from the Christian name, who live under the dominion of the Pope. The Gospel preaches nothing but the one person, Christ; not even Mary, much less the Pope or any work, be it as costly as it can. It must offer Christ alone and no one else, whom God the Father has sent among us, only that we should draw all from him, and wait for his grace and goodness.

16. Now when they preach to you Christ as a judge, how he is to appear on the judgment day, and how you should do many good works that he may reward you for them, and you agree to this, then he will indeed be a judge to you and not a Savior.