Lent 2013: “The Lord’s My Shepherd”

This is one of my favorites from Good Shepherd Sunday which is usually around the last Sunday in April unless Easter is late. It doesn’t contain the A-word (Alleluia) so it’s also possible to do during Lent or whenever the John 10 reading comes up for the Gospel.

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want.
he makes me down to lie
in pastures green; he leadeth me
the quiet waters by.

My soul he doth restore again;
and me to walk doth make
within the paths of righteousness,
even for his own Name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
yet will I fear no ill;
for thou art with me; and thy rod
and staff my comfort still.

My table thou hast furnished
in presence of my foes;
my head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life
shall surely follow me;
and in God’s house forevermore
my dwelling place shall be.
(HT: Oremus)

The normal tune is apparently “Crimond” but I learned it to the tune of “Brother James Air” so I had to scour YouTube to find a video that didn’t completely screw it up.

Lent 2013: “Blessed Assurance”

This is a hymn by the prolific hymn writer Fanny Crosby. At the time of her death, she had written something like 6000 hymns. It’s one that I associate with the evangelical camp meeting type of worship — it wasn’t in the Lutheran Book of Worship though I think it’s probably in the new cranberry-colored hymnal (which I don’t like).

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine:
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation purchase of God;
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood:

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love:

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, all is at rest –
I in my Savior am happy and blest –
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long.
(HT: Oremus)

I decided to go with the Third Day version of the hymn.

Lent 2013: “The God of Abraham Praise”

I know I shared this hymn last year but Unapologetically Episcopalian shared a video of the hymn this morning. When I went to look it up on Net Hymnal, I found out that the words are a par?a?phrase of the an?cient He?brew Yig?dal or doxology. The tune is one that the writer heard sung in a synagogue by a young woman named Leoni.

The God of Abraham praise, who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days, and God of Love;
Jehovah, great I AM! by earth and Heav??n confessed;
I bow and bless the sacred Name forever blessed.

The God of Abraham praise, at Whose supreme command
From earth I rise??and seek the joys at His right hand;
I all on earth forsake, its wisdom, fame, and power;
And Him my only Portion make, my Shield and Tower.

The God of Abraham praise, whose all sufficient grace
Shall guide me all my happy days, in all my ways.
He calls a worm His friend, He calls Himself my God!
And He shall save me to the end, thro?? Jesus?? blood.

He by Himself has sworn; I on His oath depend,
I shall, on eagle wings upborne, to Heav??n ascend.
I shall behold His face; I shall His power adore,
And sing the wonders of His grace forevermore.

Tho?? nature??s strength decay, and earth and hell withstand,
To Canaan??s bounds I urge my way, at His command.
The wat??ry deep I pass, with Jesus in my view;
And thro?? the howling wilderness my way pursue.

The goodly land I see, with peace and plenty bless??d;
A land of sacred liberty, and endless rest.
There milk and honey flow, and oil and wine abound,
And trees of life forever grow with mercy crowned.

There dwells the Lord our King, the Lord our righteousness,
Triumphant o??er the world and sin, the Prince of peace;
On Sion??s sacred height His kingdom still maintains,
And glorious with His saints in light forever reigns.

He keeps His own secure, He guards them by His side,
Arrays in garments, white and pure, His spotless bride:
With streams of sacred bliss, with groves of living joys??
With all the fruits of Paradise, He still supplies.

Before the great Three-One they all exulting stand;
And tell the wonders He hath done, through all their land:
The list??ning spheres attend, and swell the growing fame;
And sing, in songs which never end, the wondrous Name.

The God Who reigns on high the great archangels sing,
And ??Holy, holy, holy!?? cry, ??Almighty King!
Who was, and is, the same, and evermore shall be:
Jehovah??Father??great I AM, we worship Thee!??

Before the Savior??s face the ransomed nations bow;
O??erwhelmed at His almighty grace, forever new:
He shows His prints of love??they kindle to a flame!
And sound thro?? all the worlds above the slaughtered Lamb.

The whole triumphant host give thanks to God on high;
??Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,?? they ever cry.
Hail, Abraham??s God, and mine! (I join the heav??nly lays,)
All might and majesty are Thine, and endless praise.
(HT: Net Hymnal)

The video shared by Unapologetically Episcopalian is lovely but I prefer hymns done by a congregation so I chose this one.

Lent 2013: “Lord Jesus, Think on Me”

Because I’m a liturgical snob and it is ingrained in me that you do *NOT* sing or say “Alleluia” during Lent, I’m unable to pick hymns that do — it just seems wrong even if it’s a man-made rule. Thus, we’re going with another Lenten hymn in a minor key, one that works for Holy Week additionally. The words are by Synesius of Cyrene and date from the 5th century.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin;
from harmful passions set me free,
and make me pure within.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
with care and woe oppressed;
let me thy loving servant be,
and taste thy promised rest.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
nor let me go astray;
through darkness and perplexity
point thou the heavenly way.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when the flood is passed,
I may the eternal brightness see,
and share thy joy at last.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
that I may sing above
to Father, Holy Ghost and thee
the songs of praise and love.
(HT: Oremus)

I’m also a church music snob so I’m going with the Brits for this one, more specifically the Choir of King’s College.

Lent 2013: “Come to Jesus”

It was yet another Sunday that I missed due to illness. Daniel needed a breathing treatment at 4 a.m. and I’ve been fighting headaches all weekend due to the weather fluctuations. (We had a pretty gnarly storm cell pass over us today that had hail, pouring rain, thunder, and lightning.) As I was searching the web for something, I found this one. It’s one that I’ve heard on KLOVE a number of times and it is simple enough that it works for Lent.

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for Love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain…so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk, sometimes we fall…so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain…then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside…then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on glory’s side…and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

It took some doing to find a YouTube video that wasn’t dippy for this one.

Lent 2013: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”

This is one of the hymns sung at my wedding. It’s also one of my favorite ones that can be sung during Lent.

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its Beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.
(HT: Net Hymnal)

My husband Jon is an Ole so I had to use a St. Olaf recording. I’m also of the opinion that Hyfyrdol is the only acceptable tune for this one.

Lent 2013: “Children of the Heavenly Father”

A friend of mine, M, just lost her baby. Please keep her and her family in prayer as they’re facing some really painful days ahead.

In honor of her baby and because it’s a beautiful hymn, I chose Children of the Heavenly Father today. It’s a Swedish hymn that is the main go-to for funerals in Jon’s family. The words are copyrighted so I can’t post them. I can, however, share this YouTube video which does a great job of capturing the essence of the hymn.