Depth of Mercy

We recently got a CD from the library called You Deliver Me by the group Selah. One of the songs on this CD was "Depth of Mercy." In the information about this song it said that this song was written by Charles Wesley and for this CD they changed the tune. This sparked my curiosity because Selah's version is lovely and I wondered what the original version sounded like. Click here to go right to "Depth of Mercy" on Nethymnal to hear the original tune by Orlando Gibbons. I tried to find a website that had the new tune written for Selah by Chad Cates and Tony Woods but I couldn't find any so if you want to listen to this version then try at your local library or buy it on Amazon.

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Depth of Mercy

by Charles Wesley

Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

I have spilt His precious blood,
Trampled on the Son of God,
Filled with pangs unspeakable,
I, who yet am not in hell!

I my Master have denied,
I afresh have crucified,
And profaned His hallowed Name,
Put Him to an open shame.

Whence to me this waste of love?
Ask my Advocate above!
See the cause in Jesus’ face,
Now before the throne of grace.

Jesus, answer from above,
Is not all Thy nature love?
Wilt Thou not the wrong forget,
Permit me to kiss Thy feet?

If I rightly read Thy heart,
If Thou all compassion art,
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,
Pardon and accept me now.

Jesus speaks, and pleads His blood!
He disarms the wrath of God;
Now my Father’s mercies move,
Justice lingers into love.

Kindled His relentings are,
Me He now delights to spare,
Cries, “How shall I give thee up?”
Lets the lifted thunder drop.

Lo! I still walk on the ground:
Lo! an Advocate is found:
“Hasten not to cut Him down,
Let this barren soul alone.”

There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps and loves me still.

Pity from Thine eye let fall,
By a look my soul recall;
Now the stone to flesh convert,
Cast a look, and break my heart.

Now incline me to repent,
Let me now my sins lament,
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

***

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.

Titus 3:5

A quote by Sir Isaac Newton

“ We are therefore to acknowledge one God: infinite, eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, the creator of all things, most wise, most just, most good, most holy: and to have no other Gods but Him. We must love Him, fear Him, honor Him, trust in Him, pray to Him, give Him thanks, praise Him, hallow His name, obey His commandments, and set times apart for Him service as we are directed in the third and fourth commandments. ‘For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous.’ 1 John 5:3" ~Sir Isaac Newton

Poetry and a Giveaway

Recently a dear friend of ours was cleaning out and gave us this beautiful photo album. I have decided to give it away to one of my readers.

The other day I came across this poem by Robert Frost. It was called "One Guess" and it puzzled me. I looked it up and found out the answer. I am not going to tell you the answer just yet. To enter this giveaway post a comment on my blog telling me the right answer. I encourage you to try to figure it out first and if you can’t (or to confirm your answer) you can do like I did and do a Google search.

As Robert Frost said “One Guess.” Each person can only enter once. That doesn’t mean that you can’t put a link on your Facebook or Twitter page or blog about it but I can’t accept more than one entry per person. This giveaway is only open to readers in the United States. Sorry for the people who live elsewhere. (By the way, if you can leave your email address or a way to contact you so that if you win I can contact you.) Enter before Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 11:59 PM to get your name in the drawing.

Now here is the poem. Good luck!

One Guess

by Robert Frost

He has dust in his eyes and a fan for a wing,

A leg akimbo with which he can sing,

And a mouthful of dyestuff instead of a sting.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy Faithfulness

by Thomas Chisholm

Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness to
Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

☼ ☼ ☼
It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-24

"Birthday" Kitty

It was one year ago today that our cat, Pinky, came to stay with us. She was a little stray and that evening, Bekah went outside and found her eating the cat food on our porch. She has stayed with us ever since, several months ago moving in the house where she has taken over. ;-)

Bekah has claimed today as Pinky's "birthday" and she has been sung to many times already.

Happy "Birthday," Pinky!

Abide With Me

Abide With Me

by Henry Lyte

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples,
Lord,Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

~~~

They urged Him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’

Luke 24:29

A Spiteful Bird

Look who decided to prove me wrong today!

The Blue Jay that was camera shy yesterday couldn't resist checking out the cat food even if it meant getting his picture taken.

"YUM!,"says Mr. Jay, as he gulps down his big meal.

Snow Birds

The past several days we have had birds in our porch because we have had lots of snow (!) and they have taken shelter on our porch. Because we have an outside cat we have cat food on the porch and the birds are having the Goodlife®. :-)

Male and female Cardinal and a little Junco on a branch.

Chipping Sparrow in the snow on our porch.

Another Chipping Sparrow on the table in our porch.

Common Grackle. (I captured this picture in one of the few seconds he was sitting still.)

White-Throated Sparrow with a piece of cat food in its beak.

There were other species of birds that I didn't catch on camera like the Blue Jay and the Mourning Dove who wouldn't cooperate with me. To photograph birds you have to be a very patient person. I got these pictures after many tries (these birds wouldn't stay still!).

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Note: If you are interested in birds think about participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count February 12-15. What you do is count the birds that you see in your yard, park, or pond for at least fifteen minutes. You can do it one day or all four days for as long as you want. Then go to the GBBC website and enter what species you saw and the number of those certain species. This helps ornithologists from Cornell, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada to see how many birds from each species are in certain areas.

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

verses 1-8 by Edward Perronet verse 9 by John Rippon

All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;

Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.

Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.

O that, with yonder sacred throng, we at His feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all,
Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all!

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God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

Giveaway at Bits and Pieces From My LIfe

My sister is having a giveaway at her blog. She is offering a hardback copy of Charles Dickens and Friends by Marcia Williams. For more details and how you can enter to win go to her blog.

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My father had left a small collection of books in a little room upstairs, to which I had access (for it adjoined my own) and which nobody else in our house ever troubled. From that blessed little room, Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker, Tom Jones, the Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil Blas, and Robinson Crusoe, came out, a glorious host, to keep me company. They kept alive my fancy, and my hope of something beyond that place and time . . .

~Charles Dickens, David Copperfield