Face to Face

Face to Face

by Carrie Breck

Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face—what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ Who died for me?

Only faintly now I see Him,
With the darkened veil between,
But a blessèd day is coming,
When His glory shall be seen.

What rejoicing in His presence,
When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened,
And the dark things shall be plain.

Face to face—oh, blissful moment!
Face to face—to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ Who loves me so.

Refrain
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!

~~~
Now we see but a poor reflection…then we shall see face to face.

1 Corinthians 13:12

Crown Him with Many Crowns

Crown Him With Many Crowns
Matthew Bridges (stanzas 1, 2, 4), Godfrey Thring (stanza 3)

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.

Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side,

Those wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.

No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,

But downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave,

And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.

His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,

Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of Heav’n, One with the Father known;

One with the Spirit through Him giv’n from yonder glorious throne.

To Thee be endless praise, for Thou for us hast died;

Be Thou, O Lord, through endless days adored and magnified.

~~~
His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are

many crowns. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,

and His name is the Word of God.
Revelation 19: 12, 13

Hooray!

For the past couple of years, on PBS, they have played classics such as Austen and Dickens. This year they are having a new version of Emma! When they aired the complete works of Jane Austen before they had an older version. But they have made a new one starring Romola Garai (Emma Woodhouse), Jonny Lee Miller (Mr. Knightley), and Michael Gambon (Mr. Woodhouse). It begins on Sunday, January 24. Part two airs on Sunday, January 31, and on Sunday, February 7, the last installment will be aired. For the time and length click this link.

I don't know about you but I will be watching this with a hot cup of tea and a blanket (or my new snuggie). I can't wait!

***

One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.

~Jane Austen, Emma

The Church's One Foundation

The Church's One Foundation

by Samuel Stone

The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her and for her life He died.

Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses, partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.

’Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won,
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we,
Like them the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee.

***
“No one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 3:11

Another Year is Dawning

You might not be familiar with these words. I wasn't when I was looking for a hymn to put on today. We have a book of hymns called Amazing Grace and it gives one hymn per day of the year. I looked at January first thinking about some New Year hymn. I found this and I looked it up on net hymnal. When the music started playing it was the same tune as "The Church's One Foundation." (Look for this hymn next week.) The music was written by Samuel Wesley, the grandson of the famous Charles Wesley.

Another Year is Dawning
by Frances Ridley Havergal

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

***

“Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and year.”

Genesis 1:14

Merry Christmas!

The Holy Night
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

We sate among the stalls at Bethlehem;
The dumb kine from their fodder turning them,
Softened their horned faces
To almost human gazes
Toward the newly Born:
The simple shepherds from the star-lit brooks
Brought their visionary looks,
As yet in their astonied hearing rung
The strange sweet angel-tonge:
The magi of the East, in sandals worn,
Knelt reverent, sweeping round,
With long pale beards, their gifts upon the ground,
The incense, myrrh, and gold
These baby hands were impotent to hold:
So let all earthlies and celestials wait
Upon thy royal state.
Sleep, sleep, my kingly One!

My Younger Sister's Favorite Christmas Carol

I know, I know! It isn't Sunday but I didn't do my younger sister, Bekah's favorite Christmas carol. I put My favorite (it is also my brother's), my mom's, my older sister's, and my dad's so just this once I am posting a hymn on another day of the week.

~~~

Silent Night

by Josef Mohr

Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Silent night, holy night
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

***

“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.”

Luke 2:8-9