Above:  Throne of God

Image in the Public Domain

Text (published in 1925) by William Boyd Carpenter (1841-1918), Anglican Bishop of Ripon then Canon of Westminster

Hymn Source = The Hymnal 1940 (1943), The Episcopal Church

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Before thy Throne, O God, we kneel;

Give us a conscience quick to feel,

A ready mind to understand

The meaning of thy chastening hand;

Whate’er the pain and shame may be,

Bring us, O Father, nearer thee.

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Search out our hearts and make us true,

Wishful to give to all their due;

From love of pleasure, lust of gold,

From sins which make the heart grow cold,

Wean us and train us with thy rod;

Teach us to know our faults, O God.

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For sins of heedless word and deed,

For pride ambitious to succeed,

For crafty trade and subtle snare

To catch the simple unaware,

For lives bereft of purpose high,

Forgive, forgive, O Lord, we cry.

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Let the fierce fires which burn and try,

Our inmost spirits purify;

Consume the ill; purge out the shame;

O God, be with us in the flame;

A new-born people may we rise,

More pure, more true, more nobly wise.

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Above:  One of My Crucifixes

Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnary–Revised Edition (1927)

Text (1875) by Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877)

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O perfect life of love!

All, all is finished now,

All that He left His throne above

To do for us below.

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No work is left undone

Of all the Father willed;

His toils and sorrows, one by one,

The Scripture have fulfilled.

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No pain that we can share

But He has felt its smart;

All forms of human grief and care

Have pierced that tender heart.

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And on His thorn-crowned head,

And on His sinless soul,

Our sins in all their guild were laid,

That He might make us whole.

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In perfect love He dies;

For me He dies, for me!

I all-atoning Sacrifice,

I cling by faith to Thee.

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In every time of need,

Before the judgment throne,

Thy work, O Lamb of God, I’ll plead,

Thy merits, not my own.

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Yet work, O Lord, in me,

As thou for me hast wrought;

And let my love the answer be

To grace Thy love has brought.

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Above:  Part of My Biblical Studies Library, September 15, 2019

Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Text (1861) by Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877)

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnary–Revised Edition (1927)

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Lord, Thy word abideth,

And our footsteps guideth;

Who its truth believeth

Light and joy receiveth.

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When our foes are near us,

Then Thy word doth cheer us,

Word of consolation,

Message of salvation.

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When the storms are o’er us,

And dark clouds before us,

Then its light directeth,

And our way protecteth.

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Who can tell the pleasure,

Who recount the treasure,

By Thy word imparted

To the simple-hearted?

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Word of mercy, giving

Succour to the living;

Word of life, supplying

Comfort to the dying!

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O that we, discerning

Its most holy learning,

Lord, may love and fear Thee,

Evermore be near Thee!

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Above:  Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, Hanceville, Alabama

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnary–Revised Hymnary (1927)

Text (1875) by Henry Baker Williams (1821-1877)

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I am not worthy, holy Lord,

That Thou should’st come to me;

Speak but the word; one gracious word

Can set the sinner free.

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I am not worthy; cold and bare

The lodging of my soul;

How canst Thou deign to enter there?

Lord, speak, and make me whole.

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I am not worthy; yet my God,

How can I say Thee nay, —

Thee, who didst give Thy flesh and blood

My ransom price to pay?

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O come, in this sweet morning hour,

Feed me with food divine;

And fill with all Thy love and power

This worthless heart of mine.

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One may substitute “evening” for “morning” in the last stanza.

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