Hymn - Lord Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee

"Lord, 'Tis Not that I did Choose Thee"
by Josiah Conder, 1789-1855

Tune - O du Liebe - linked here

1. Lord, 'tis not that I did choose Thee;
That, I know, could never be;
For this heart would still refuse Thee
Had Thy grace not chosen me.
Thou hast from the sin that stained me
Washed and cleansed and set me free
And unto this end ordained me,
That I ever live to Thee.

2. 'Twas Thy grace in Christ that called me,
Taught my darkened heart and mind;
Else the world had yet enthralled me,
To Thy heavenly glories blind.
Now my heart owns none above Thee;
For Thy grace alone I thirst,
Knowing well that, if I love Thee,
Thou, O Lord, didst love me first.

3. Praise the God of all creation;
Praise the Father's boundless love.
Praise the Lamb, our Expiation,
Priest and King enthroned above.
Praise the Spirit of salvation,
Him by whom our spirits live.
Undivided adoration
To the great Jehovah give.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #37
Text: John 15:16
Author: Josiah Conder, 1843, alt.
Tune: "O du Liebe"
1st Published in: Musikalischer Christenschatz
Town: Basel, 1745

Hymn - If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee

 

"If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee"
by Georg Neumark, 1621-1681
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

Tune - Wer nur den lieben Gott - linked here

1. If thou but suffer God to guide thee
And hope in Him through all thy ways,
He'll give thee strength, whate'er betide thee,
And bear thee through the evil days.
Who trusts in God's unchanging love
Builds on the Rock that naught can move.

2. What can these anxious cares avail thee,
These never-ceasing moans and sighs?
What can it help if thou bewail thee
O'er each dark moment as it flies?
Our cross and trials do but press
The heavier for our bitterness.

3. Be patient and await His leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whate'er thy Father's pleasure
And His discerning love hath sent,
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
To Him who chose us for His own.

4. God knows full well when times of gladness
Shall be the needful thing for thee.
When He has tried thy soul with sadness
And from all guile has found thee free,
He comes to thee all unaware
And makes thee own His loving care.

5. Nor think amid the fiery trial
That God hath cast thee off unheard,
That he whose hopes meet no denial
Must surely be of God preferred.
Time passes and much change doth bring
And sets a bound to everything.

6. All are alike before the Highest;
'Tis easy to our God, we know,
To raise thee up, though low thou liest,
To make the rich man poor and low.
True wonders still by Him are wrought
Who setteth up and brings to naught.

7. Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
Perform thy duties faithfully,
And trust His Word, though undeserving,
Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.

Hymn #518
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 55:22
Author: Georg Neumark, 1640
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Wer nur den lieben Gott laesst walten"
Composer: Georg Neumark, 1640
Tune: "Wer nur den lieben Gott"

 Georg Neumark

Hymn - Arm These Thy Children, Mighty Lord

 

"Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty Lord"
by Christopher Wordsworth, 1807-1885

Tune - Erhalt uns Herr

1. Arm these Thy soldiers, mighty Lord,
With shield of faith and Spirit's sword.
Forth to the battle may they go
And boldly fight against the Foe.

2. With banner of the Cross unfurled,
They overcome the evil world
And so at last receive from Thee
The palm and crown of victory.

3. Come, ever-blessed Spirit, come
And make Thy servants' hearts Thy home,
May each a living temple be
Hallowed forever, Lord, to Thee.

4. Enrich that temple's holy shrine
With sevenfold gifts of grace divine;
With wisdom, light, and knowledge bless,
With counsel, strength, fear, godliness.

5. O Trinity in Unity,
One only God and Persons Three,
In whom, through whom, by whom, we live,
To Thee we praise and glory give.

6. Oh, grant us so to use Thy grace
That we may see Thy glorious face
And ever with the heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Hymn #332
The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ephesians 6:13
Author: Christopher Wordsworth, 1862, alt.
Tune: "Erhalt uns, Herr"
1st Published in: Geistliche Lieder
Town: Wittenberg, 1543

 Bishop Christopher Wordsworth, nephew of the poet.

Also - O Day of Rest and Gladness.

What We Have Here Is a Refusal To Communicate

 

Christian News is doubtless losing circulation faster than a Joe Biden fan magazine. At the recent online board meeting, starring Jack Cascione and a few other patriarchs of Objective Justification, someone said, "You are not still giving Jackson a free subscription?!"

Hale, "Sadly, I inherited Jackson's free subscription from our sainted Herman Otten. Mr. Jackson has used that access to quote us mercilessly."

The ancient intercom crackled in each speaker, "That's Dr. Jackson to you, Phil."

Cascione nervously swallowed some Ovaltine. "We've been hacked! Change your passwords. Call Linux. Alert your lawyers!"

The Mequon Cub Scout troop laughed and gave each other high fives. "We can give him another entry to the site, but he does not want it. He said, "I would rather spend the time reading Luther's English Bible, the KJV. I can have as much fun not reading Christian News as I did skimming it each week for 5 minutes. LutherQuest and ALPB Online are prime targets. Prime."