Friday, November 24, 2017

A Psalm of Thanksgiving



Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever
(Psalm 136:1-3, CSB).

He remembers His covenant with patriarchs of old;
His faithful love endures forever;
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
His faithful love endures forever.
Not one word of His promises falls to the ground;
His faithful love endures forever.

He is good and does good;
His faithful love endures forever.
He causes all things to work together for good;
His faithful love endures forever;
For those who love Him and are called according to His purpose;
His faithful love endures forever.

Through flood and fire, He stays with His redeemed ones;
His faithful love endures forever.
Nothing can separate us from His love.
His faithful love endures forever.

Through hard providences and happy ones,
His faithful love endures forever;
When He gives and when He takes away,
His faithful love endures forever.
Blessed be the name of the Lord;
His faithful love endures forever;

He treasures each tear in His bottle;
His faithful love endures forever;
He turns mourning into dancing;
His faithful love endures forever.

He is near the brokenhearted;
His faithful love endures forever;
And saves those crushed in spirit.
His faithful love endures forever.
He gives songs in the night;
His faithful love endures forever;
and restores hope to the helpless.
His faithful love endures forever.

We do not mourn as those who have no hope;
His faithful love endures forever;
With trumpet sound, Christ will return;
His faithful love endures forever;
Then we all shall be with the Lord.
His faithful love endures forever.

The God of all comfort comforts us;
His faithful love endures forever;
That we also may comfort others,
His faithful love endures forever;
With the comfort we have received from Him.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.



Scripture references:
Psalm 119:68; Rom. 8:28; Isaiah 43:2; Rom 8:38-39; Job 1:21; Ps 56:8; Ps 30:11; 34:18; Job 35:10; Ps 10:12; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Cor 1:3-4.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Gratitude Like Incense

"Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of Lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever....

It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever."
Psalms 136:1‭-‬3‭, ‬23‭-‬26 ESV



"A grateful spirit should ever be cultivated by the Christian; and especially after deliverances we should prepare a song for our God. Earth should be a temple filled with the songs of grateful saints, and every day should be a censor smoking with the sweet incense of thanksgiving."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook for November 20

Monday, November 20, 2017

A Better Resurrection

BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI (1830-1894)

I have no wit, no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numb'd too much for hopes or fears;
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes, but dimm'd with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus, quicken me.


My life is like a faded leaf,
My harvest dwindled to a husk:
Truly my life is void and brief
And tedious in the barren dusk;
My life is like a frozen thing,
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall—the sap of Spring;
O Jesus, rise in me.


My life is like a broken bowl,
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perish'd thing;
Melt and remould it, till it be
A royal cup for Him, my King:
O Jesus, drink of me.



(My thanks go to Kristen Wetherell and Sarah Walton for bringing this poem to my attention in their book, Hope When It Hurts. In this Thanksgiving week, please remember Amore's extended family in your prayers. Today marks 3 months since his sister Cindy died, so this is her family's first holiday season without her.)

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

All Thy Mercies

Fernando Ortega first introduced me to this hymn, which serves as a fitting guide in this (American) Thanksgiving month for our meditations on the Lord's blessings throughout our own lives, even from before birth. May our ever-grateful hearts adore His mercies!



When all Thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love and praise.

O, how shall words with equal warmth
The gratitude declare,
That glows within my ravished heart!
But Thou canst read it there.

Thy providence my life sustained,
And all my wants redressed,
While in the silent womb I lay,
And hung upon the breast.

To all my weak complaints and cries
Thy mercy lent an ear,
Ere* yet my feeble thoughts had learned
To form themselves in prayer.

Unnumbered comforts to my soul
Thy tender care bestowed,
Before my infant heart conceived
From whom those comforts flowed.

When in the slippery paths of youth
With heedless steps I ran,
Thine arm unseen conveyed me safe,
And led me up to man.

Through hidden dangers, toils, and death,
It gently cleared my way;
And through the pleasing snares of vice,
More to be feared than they.

When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou
With health renewed my face;
And when in sins and sorrows sunk,
Revived my soul with grace.

Thy bounteous hand with worldly bliss
Hath made my cup run o’er;
And, in a kind and faithful friend,
Hath doubled all my store.

Ten thousand thousand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ;
Nor is the least a cheerful heart
That tastes those gifts with joy.

Through every period of my life
Thy goodness I’ll pursue
And after death, in distant worlds,
The glorious theme renew.

When nature fails, and day and night
Divide Thy works no more,
My ever grateful heart, O Lord,
Thy mercy shall adore.

Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I’ll raise;
For, oh, eternity’s too short
To utter all Thy praise!
~"When All Thy Mercies, O My God," Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

--------------
*before


Fernando Ortega's interpretation of this hymn:


{If reading in RSS feed or e-mail, you may need to access this actual blog post to view the video.}

Monday, November 6, 2017

All My Good

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
Psalm 16:2, NIV

Yaupon holly
"Thou art all my good in times of peace,
     my only support in days of trouble,
     my one sufficiency when life shall end.
Help me to see how good thy will is in all,
     and even when it crosses mine
     teach me to be pleased with it.
Grant me to feel thee in fire, and food and every providence,
     and to see that thy many gifts and creatures
     are but thy hands and fingers taking hold of me."








"Thou bottomless fountain of all good,
     I give myself to thee out of love,
          for all I have or own is thine,
          my goods, family, church, self,
     to do with as thou wilt,
     to honour thyself by me, and by all mine.
If it be consistent with thy eternal counsels,
                             the purpose of thy grace,
                             and the great ends of thy glory,
     then bestow upon me the blessings of thy comforts;
If not, let me resign myself to thy wiser determinations."

~The Valley of Vision, "The All-Good," p. 7