Above: Supper at Emmaus, by Matthias Stom
Image in the Public Domain
Text (published in 1825) by James Montgomery (1771-1854)
Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1941), Evangelical and Reformed Church
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Be known to us in breaking bread,
But do not then depart;
Saviour, abide with us, and spread
Thy table in our heart.
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There sup with us in love divine;
Thy body and Thy blood,
That living bread, that heavenly wine,
Be our immortal food.
Above: Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Covington, Georgia, May 7, 2017
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Text (1825) by James Montgomery (1771-1854)
Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1941), Evangelical and Reformed Church
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According to Thy gracious word,
In meek humility,
Thy will I do, my dying Lord,
I will remember Thee.
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Thy body, broken for my sake,
My bread from heaven shall be;
Thy testamental cup I take
And thus remember Thee.
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Whom to the cross I turn mine eyes,
And rest on Calvary,
O Lamb of God, my Sacrifice,
I must remember Thee;
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Remember Thee, and all Thy pains,
And all Thy love to me:
Yea, while a breath, a pulse remains,
Will I remember Thee.
Above: Young Jesus in the Temple
Image in the Public Domain
Text (1863) by James Russell Woodford (1820-1885), Anglican Bishop of Ely (1873-1885)
Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1941), Evangelical and Reformed Church
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Within the Father’s house
The Son hath found His home;
And to His temple suddenly
The Lord of life hath come.
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The doctors of the law
Gaze on the wondrous Child,
And marvel at His gracious words
Of wisdom undefiled.
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Yet not to them is given
The mighty truth to know,
To lift the fleshly veil which hides
Incarnate God below.
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The secret of the Lord
Escapes each human eye,
And faithful pondering hearts await
The full epiphany.
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Lord, visit Thou our souls,
And teach us by Thy grace
Each dim revealing of Thyself
With loving awe to trace;
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Till from our darkened sight
The cloud shall pass away,
And on the cleansed soul shall burst
The everlasting day.
Above: Snow-Covered Trail, Seward, Alaska, 1916
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsc-01960
Text (1769; published in 1772) by William Cowper (1731-1800)
Hymn Source #1 = The Hymnal (1941), Evangelical and Reformed Church
Hymn Source #2 = The Hymnal 1940 Companion (1949), The Episcopal Church
The original text was six stanzas long.
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O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
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Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus, and his word?
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What peaceful hours I then enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.
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Return, O Holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
And drove Thee from my breast.
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The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.
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So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
Above: All Angels Episcopal Church, Eatonton, Georgia, January 22, 2017
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Text (1562) by John Marckant; altered by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)
Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1941), Evangelical and Reformed Church
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O Lord, turn not Thy face away
From them that lowly lie,
Lamenting sore their sinful life
With tears and bitter cry.
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Thy mercy gates are open wide
To them that mourn their sin;
O shout them not against us, Lord,
But let us enter in.
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And need we, then, O Lord, repeat
The blessing which we crave,
When Thou dost know, before we speak,
The thing that we would have?
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Mercy, O Lord, mercy we ask,
This is the total sum;
For mercy, Lord, is all our prayer,
O let Thy mercy come!
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This is post #1800 of GATHERED PRAYERS.
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Above: John Scrimger
Image Source = The Presbyterian Church in Canada
Text by the Reverend John Scrimger (February 10, 1849-August 6, 1915), Canadian Presbyterian; he participated in the planning stages of the formation of The United Church of Canada (1925)
The Story of Our Hymns: The Handbook to the Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church (1952), by Armin Haeussler, contains an excellent biography of Scrimger.
Scrimger composed this text, based on Psalm 15, for The Psalter (1912), the committee of which he was a member. The Psalter (1912) was a product of the United Presbyterian Church of North America; the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.; the Presbyterian Church in Canada; the Reformed Church in America; the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America; the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod; the Christian Reformed Church in North America; the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church; and the Associate Presbyterian Church.
This text seems to have fallen out of favor, based on my survey of germane books in my extensive collection of hymnals. The most recent volumes I have found to contain the text are the Trinity Hymnal (1961), Orthodox Presbyterian Church; and the Trinity Hymnal–Baptist Edition (1995), Regular Baptists.
Text Source = The Psalter (1914/1927), which is The Psalter (1912) with documents, some of them particular to the Christian Reformed Church in North America, appended
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Lord, who shall come to Thee,
And stand before Thy face?
Who shall abide, a welcome guest,
Within Thy holy place?
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The man of upright life,
Sincere in word and deed,
Who slanders neither friend nor foe,
Nor idle tales will heed.
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Who honors godly men,
But scorns the false and vile,
Who keeps his promised word to all,
Tho’ loss be his the while.
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Who loves not usury,
Nor takes a base reward;
Unmoved forever he shall be,
And stand before the Lord.
Above: Easter Cross, 1877
Copyright by Gibson and Company
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-pga-01328
Hymn Source = The Pilgrim Hymnal (1931/1935), General Council of Congregational Christian Churches
Text (1928) by Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966)
Dr. Blanchard answered Armin Hauessler’s request for information regarding the origin of this hymn. Haeussler reported an edited version of the reply in The Story of Our Hymns (1952), the companion volume for The Hymnal (1941), the Evangelical and Reformed Church:
In reply to your letter…I would say that what suggested my writing the hymn was the desire to have some words which could be sung to what I always thought was the very beautiful tune of ST. CHRISTOPHER, by Frederick C. Maker. The words ordinarily associated with it begin, as you know, “Beneath the cross I Jesus I fain would take my stand.” They are words of a peculiar type of piety which never appealed to me, and I wanted some words which would have a modern appeal. I therefore appealed the words of the hymn concerning which you wrote. This was in the year 1928….The hymn was written for my own congregation and without a thought it would travel far.
–Page 292
That congregation was Euclid Avenue Congregational Church, Cleveland, Ohio, which has been South Euclid United Church of Christ since the summer of 2014.
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Before the cross of Jesus
Our lives are judged today;
The meaning of our eager strife
Is tested by his Way.
Across our restless living
The light streams from his cross,
And by its clear, revealing beams
We measure gain and loss.
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The hopes that lead us onward,
The fears that hold us back,
Our will to dare great things for God,
The courage that we lack,
The faith we keep in goodness,
Our love, as low or pure–
On all, the judgment of the cross
Falls steady, clear, and sure.
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Yet humbly, in our striving,
O God, we face its test,
We crave the pow’r to do thy will
With him who did it best.
On us let now the healing
Of his great Spirit fall,
And make us brave and full of joy
To answer to his call.
