Category: Songs and Hymns

A Sunday Meditation

On By KimIn Songs and Hymns, Sunday MeditationsLeave a comment


Oh, how sweet the glorious message simple faith may claim:
Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same;
Still He loves to save the sinful, heal the sick and lame,
Cheer the mourner, still the tempest glory to His name!

He who was the friend of sinners seeks the lost one now:
Sinner, come, and at His footstool penitently bow;
He who said, “I’ll not condemn thee, go and sin no more,”
Speaks to thee that word of pardon as in days of yore.

Oft on earth He healed the suff’rer by His mighty hand:
Still our sicknesses and sorrows go at His command;
He who gave His healing virtue to a woman’s touch
To the faith that claims His fullness still will give as much.

As He walked once to Emmaus, with them to abide,
So thro’ all life’s way He walketh ever near our side;
Soon again we shall behold Him hasten, Lord, the day
But ’twill still be this same Jesus as He went away.

Refrain:
Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same,
All may change, but Jesus never glory to His name!
Glory to His name! Glory to His name!
All may change, but Jesus never glory to His name!

~Albert B. Smith 

*The photo is from another morning walk in our lovely park.  They are dredging the lake this winter.  It is needed, but I will miss these views.

The Gentle Shepherd

On By KimIn Bookshelves, Songs and HymnsLeave a comment

I love music and the Lord has used many songs that teach His Word to speak to my heart. Psalm 23 is one that we all learn as children. I have to confess that I always quoted it lightly. Then I read A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 and I never quoted it lightly again. I gained a new understanding of what it means to have the Lord as my Shepherd.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

~~~~~

 “…the staggering fact remains that Christ the Creator of such an enormous universe of overwhelming magnitude, deigns to call Himself my Shepherd and invites me to consider myself His sheep–His special object of affection and attention. Who better could care for me?” ~Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

Gentle Shepherd

Oh, the Lord is my Gentle Shepherd showing me the way.
Through the darkness, through the sunshine,
He will never lead astray.
He is with me ev’ry moment, He’s in my heart to stay.
Oh I feel His arms around me, and I hear Him gently say:

~~~~~

I am the Gentle Shepherd watching over you.
I am the Gentle Shepherd and I’ll surely see you through.
I have been where you’re going and I know what you have to do.
Oh, I am the Gentle Shepherd, and I gave my life for you.
~~~~~

If you’re looking for a Saviour, looking for a friend,
Oh let Jesus be your Shepherd, He will love you till the end.
The door is always open, come now and don’t delay.
And He’ll be your loving Shepherd; He will guide you all the way.

~~~~~

He is the Gentle Shepherd, watching over you.
He is the Gentle Shepherd, and He’ll surely see you through.
He has been where you’re going, and he knows what you have to do.
Oh, He is the Gentle Shepherd, and He gave His life for you.

He is the Gentle Shepherd.
~~~~~

words by Duane Nichols, music by Duane Nichols and Mary Lynn Van Gelderen

recorded on Come and Singby the Stouffer Men

 

 

O My Redeemer

On By KimIn Songs and Hymns, Sunday MeditationsLeave a comment

Every now and then we sing a song in the Japanese hymnal that I don’t recognize.  The English title is often on the page and so I google.  We sang this hymn last Sunday.  The words were such an encouragement to me, especially the first verse.  Have you heard this before?  Is there a verse that is a special encouragement to you?

O my Redeemer,
What a friend Thou art to me!
Oh, what a refuge I have found in Thee!
When the way was dreary,
And my heart was sore oppressed,
’Twas Thy voice that lulled me
To a calm sweet rest.

Refrain:
Nearer, draw nearer,
Till my soul is lost in Thee;
Nearer, draw nearer,
Blessèd Lord, to me.

When in their beauty
Stars unveil their silver light,
Then, O my Savior,
Give me songs at night—
Songs of yonder mansions,
Where the dear ones, gone before,
Sing Thy praise for ever,
On that peaceful shore.

Jesus, my Savior,
When the last deep shadows fall;
When in the silence
I shall hear Thy call—
In Thine arms reposing,
Let me breathe my life away,
And awake triumphant,
In eternal day.

~Fanny J. Cosby

*photos of Mt. Fuji and Matsumoto Castle