Yesterday evening we attended a hymn sing at our church;
*(click link then the Hymn Sing link)
an evening dedicated to opening the hymn books in the pews
and singing with the accompaniment of piano and organ only,
and four part harmony that seemed like it should have brought the house down!!
Awesome foretaste of Heaven!??😊
(* also, if you click on this link you will hear
a young woman's heartfelt reasons for her love of hymns,
You will be treated to some special features as well:
a violin solo,
a men's quartet
and an organ solo!!)
I love many new worship songs as well!
Below are a few of my 'newish' favs...
...but oh, these wonderful new songs can never entirely replace the old hymns
often inspired by great adversity and trial!
And, as one song leader stated, the older we grow,
and the more we experience
the more we identify with many of them!
Below, just a few of my personal favourite hymns...
We couldn't sing all of them last night;
(there are enough to fill eternity! hallelujah!!)
I've come to the conclusion that music is a bit like traveling;
The new songs are like visiting sights and places new to us,
and they fill us with awe
and worship for our Creator,
but the old songs are like coming home!
Like familiar faces, like arms outstretched in warm welcome
to home, sweet home
that never grows old!
Before we sang Lead me to Calvary
The song leader asked 'have we been there?
He has and
there's no other place so dear!'
This comment inspired today's poem
***
There is no other place so dear in all the world to me
No other place can calm and cheer my soul, like Calvary
For there, beneath the bloodstained tree where pardon’s payment fell
There Jesus conquered death for me, and saved my soul from hell
There is no other place in all the world, to make me whole
No other place where grace unfurls hope’s anchor for the soul
Here blood-streams bridge the damning Fall that brought to Eden, shame
There is no other dearer place in all the world to me
I feel His blood drops on my face, I hear His dying plea
‘Father forgive, deliver,’ …the bloody sword falls; I cry
‘Father forgive’ redemption’s river gushes in reply
There is no other place as wonderful as Calvary
No other solace thwarts the pull of Jealous Enemy
As I behold the Conqueror that death could not destroy
As I behold my dear Saviour, I weep and sing for joy
…and press anew toward faith’s Prize I could never afford
So undeserved, its fortune lies beneath my bloodstained sword
And nothing in this world can ever be dearer to me
Than the place where grace was unfurled; the cross of Calvary
© Janet Martin
Earlier this past week I looked up and listened to this hymn below,
and couldn't help but weep!
Once I was that lost sheep, but now I am found
At Calvary!
Still so many lost sheep though, right?!!
Let's not grow weary in praying!
Luke 15:1-7
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.
2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.
Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country
and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,
‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who do not need to repent.
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I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!