Above:  Albert Lea, Minnesota, April 28, 1908

Photographer and Copyright Claimant = Frederick J. Bandholtz, Des Moines, Iowa

H116197–U.S. Copyright Office

Image Source = Library of Congress

Oluf Hanson Smeby (1851-1929) was a Norwegian Lutheran minister and hymn translator in the United States.  He served as the chairman of the committee for The Lutheran Hymnary (1913).

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O Holy Spirit, Grant Us Grace:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/o-holy-spirit-grant-us-grace/

Abide with us, the Day is Waning:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/abide-with-us-the-day-is-waning/

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Above:  Pentecost Dove

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Original Text (1591) by Bartholomaus Ringwaldt (1532-1599)

Translation #1 (1693) by Soren Jonasson

Translation #2 (1909) by Oluf Hanson Smeby (1851-1929)

Hymn Source = The Concordia Hymnal:  A Hymnal for Church, School and Home (1932), U.S. Norwegian Lutherans

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1.  O Holy Spirit, grant us grace

That we our Lord and Saviour

In faith and fervent love embrace,

And truly serve Him ever,

So that when death is drawing nigh,

We to His open wounds may fly,

And find in them salvation.

2.  Help us that we Thy saving word

In faithful hearts may treasure;

Let e’er that bread of life afford

New grace in richest measure;

Yea, let us die to ev’ry sin,

For heav’n create us new within,

That fruits of faith may flourish.

3.  And when our earthly race is run,

Death’s bitter hour impending,

Then may Thy work, in us begun,

Continue till life’s ending;

Until we gladly may commend

Our souls into our Savior’s hand,

To rest in peace eternal.

Above:  Dawn on River

Image in the Public Domain

Text by Henry N. Hendrickson (1869-1953)

Hymn Source = The Concordia Hymnal:  A Hymnal for Church, School and Home (1932), U.S. Norwegian Lutherans

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1.  Father, source of life and light,

Who has kept us through the night,

Sheltered ‘neath Thy mighty wing,

Thee our morning praise we bring.

Shine upon us from above

With the radiance of Thy love.

2.  Savior, Master, in Thy way

Guide our erring steps today;

In temptation’s trying hour

Touch us with Thy quickening pow’r.

Richest gift Thy grace can give,

Teach us, Master, how to live.

3.  Holy Spirit, ever near,

Keep our hearts from guilty fear.

Strengthen us for each our task

More than we know how to ask.

Sanctified, redeemed, and free,

Humbly let us walk with Thee.

Above:  Good Shepherd

Image in the Public Domain

Text by Carl Olof Rosenius (1816-1868)

Translated by Ernst W. Olson (1870-1958)

Hymn Source = The Concordia Hymnal:  A Hymnal for Church, School and Home (1932), U.S Norwegian Lutherans

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1.  With God and His mercy,

His Spirit, and word,

And loving communion at altar and board,

We meet with assurance the dawn of each day:

The Shepherd is with us,

The Shepherd is with us,

To lead and protect us, and teach us the way.

2.  In perilous times, amid tempest and night,

A band presses on through the gloom toward light;

Though humble, and meek, and disowned by the world,

They follow the Savior,

They follow the Savior,

And march on to glory, with banners unfurled.

3.  While groveling worldlings with dross are content,

And ever on sin and transgression are bent,

I follow, victorious hosts, at your word,

And march on to glory,

And march on to glory,

We march on to glory, our captain the Lord.

4.  The sign of the cross we triumphantly bear,

Though none of my kindred that emblem may wear;

I joyfully follow the champions of right,

Who march on to glory,

Who march on to glory,

Who march on to glory, with weapons of might.

5.  O Shepherd, abide with us, care for us still,

And feed us and lead us, and teach us Thy will;

And when in Thy heavenly folds we shall be,

Our thanks and our praises,

Our thanks and our praises,

Our thanks and our praises we’ll render to Thee.

Above:  Air Clouds

Image in the Public Domain

Above:  Roderic Dunkerley (1884-1966), son of William Arthur Dunkerley (1852-1941), a.k.a. John Oxenham

Hymn Source = The Hymnal for Youth (1941), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

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1.  Dear Father, whom we cannot see,

We know that Thou are near;

With longing hearts we turn to Thee,

And ask that Thou wilt set us free

From war and hate and fear.

2.  Dear Father, King of love and peace,

We know that Thou art strong;

Make conflicts everywhere to cease,

Let mercy everywhere increase,

And kindness conquer wrong.

3.  Dear Father, Lord of sea and land,

We know that Thou art wise;

O make the nations understood

That only by Thy guiding hand

Can lasting peace arise.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Above:  Icon of Christ the Merciful

Image in the Public Domain

Text (circa 1861) by Henry Harbaugh (1817-1867)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal for Youth (1941), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

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1.  Jesus, I live to Thee,

The Loveliest and Best;

My life in Thee, Thy life in me,

In Thy blest love I rest.

2.  Jesus, I die to Thee,

Whenever death shall come;

To die in Thee is life to me

In my eternal home.

3.  Whether to live or die,

I know not which is best;

To live in Thee is bliss to me,

To die is endless rest.

4.  Living or dying, Lord,

I ask but to be Thine;

My life in Thee, Thy life in me,

Makes heaven forever mine.

Above:  St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church, Marietta, Georgia, May 17, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1919) by Berton Braley (1882-1966)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal for Youth (1941), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

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1.  Lord, we come with hearts aflame,

Seeking service in Thy Name;

All our youth and strength are Thine,

Given to help Thy work divine;

All our love and faith we bring,

They are Thine, O heavenly King.

2.  Lord of hosts, we ask Thine aid,

Keep us ever unafraid;

Hold us loyal, hold us true

To the task we have to do;

Lead us on to victory,

We shall triumph praising Thee.

3.  Lord of all, we take our stand,

Giving help at Thy command;

Eager, joyful, blithe, and strong,

Thrilled with love and filled with song;

Lord, we come with hearts aflame,

Seeking service in Thy Name.

Above:  Cathedral Ruins

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1935) by Purd Eugene Deitz (1897-1987)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal for Youth (1941), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

I consulted The New Century Hymnal Companion:  A Guide to the Hymns (1998), handbook to The New Century Hymnal (United Church of Christ, 1995), and The Story of Our Hymns:  The Handbook to the Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church (1952), companion volume to The Hymnal (1941).  Dietz, raised at Zion Reformed Church, York, Pennsylvania, graduated from Central Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, entered the ordained ministry of the Reformed Church in the United States in 1921, and went on to serve at Fourth Reformed Church, Dayton, Ohio, and Trinity (Evangelical and) Reformed Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before leaving parish ministry.  As of 1952 he taught at Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, and (starting in 1949) served as the Executive Secretary of the Board of National Missions for the Evangelical and Reformed Church.  He also served on the committee for the Book of Worship (1942) of the Evangelical and Reformed Church.  Deitz also represented the Evangelical and Reformed Church at the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1948).  He was a minister in three denominations:  the Reformed Church in the United States(1793-1934), which merged into the Evangelical and Reformed Church (1934-1957), which merged into the United Church of Christ.

Deitz composed this hymn in while the pastor of Trinity Evangelical and Reformed Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He was organizing a youth conference themed “Christian Youth Building a New World.”  He could find no suitable hymn for the occasion, so he wrote one and set it to the tune FINLANDIA, one of his favorites.

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1.  We would be building; temples still undone

O’er crumbling walls their crosses scarcely lift;

Waiting till love can raise the broken stone,

And hearts creative bridge the human rift;

We would be building,

Master, let Thy plan

Reveal the life that God would give to man.

2.  Teach us to build; upon the solid rock

We set the dream that hardens into deed,

Ribbed with the steel that time and change doth mock,

Th’un failing purpose of our noblest creed;

Teach us to build;

O Master, lend us slight

To see the towers gleaming in the light.

3.  O keep us building, Master; may our hands

Ne’er falter when the dream is in our hearts,

When to our ears there come divine commands

And all the pride of sinful will departs;

We build with Thee,

O grant enduring worth

Until the heavenly Kingdom comes on earth.

Above:  Bowie’s Universal Display of the Naval Flags of All Nations in the World

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-pga-00276

Text (1913) by Vera Campbell

Hymn Source = The Hymnal for Youth (1941), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

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1.  God of the nations, hear our call;

Thou who art Father of us all,

Show us our part in Thy great pan

For the vast brotherhood of man.

2.  Let us with earnestness of youth

Care only for pursuit of truth.

O may we feel Thy guidance still

And heed the impulse of Thy will.

3.  Thus, as Thy Kingdom cometh here,

Shall it throughout the world draw near;

And loyalty to country then

Shall reach out to include all men.

Above:  The Union Jack

Image in the Public Domain

Maria Matilda Penstone (1859-1910), who published books about the education of children under the name “M. M. Penstone,” was the Head Mistress of the Home and Colonial School Society’s High School for Girls and Training School for Kindergarten Teachers, Highbury, London, England.

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God Bless All the Workers:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/god-bless-all-the-workers/

Praise to God for Things We See:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/praise-to-god-for-things-we-see/

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