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.

+++++

When our foes are near us,

Then Thy word doth cheer us,

Word of consolation,

Message of salvation.

+++++

When the storms are o’er us,

And dark clouds before us,

Then its light directeth,

And our way protecteth.

+++++

Who can tell the pleasure,

Who recount the treasure,

By Thy word imparted

To the simple-hearted?

+++++

Word of mercy, giving

Succour to the living;

Word of life, supplying

Comfort to the dying!

+++++

O that we, discerning

Its most holy learning,

Lord, may love and fear Thee,

Evermore be near Thee!

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Above:  Title Page of My Copy of the Douay-Rheims Version of the Bible

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Original German Text (1566) by Petrus Herbert (1530-1571)

English Translation (1876) by Louis F. Kampmann (1817-1884)

Hymn Source = Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (1969), Moravian Church in America

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The Word of God, which ne’er shall cease,

Proclaims free pardon, grace, and peace,

Salvation shows in Christ alone,

The perfect will of God makes known.

+++++

This holy Word exposes sin,

Convinces us that we’re unclean,

Points out the wretched, ruined state

Of all mankind, both small and great.

+++++

It then reveals God’s boundless grace,

Which justifies our sinful race,

And gives eternal life to all

Who will accept the gospel call.

+++++

It gently heals the broken heart

And heavenly riches doth impart,

Unfolds redemption’s wondrous plan

Through Christ’s atoning death for man.

+++++

O God, in Whom our trust we place,

We thank Thee for Thy word of grace;

Help us its precepts to obey

Till we shall live in endless day.

Above:  The Reading of the Gospel, St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia, February 28, 2016

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1951) by Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966), for the publication of the Old Testament (1952) of the Revised Standard Version

Text copyrighted 1953 by the Hymn Society of America

Copyright renewed in 1981 by the Hymn Society of America

Copyright still in effect in Baptist Hymnal (2008), Southern Baptist Convention; and the Celebrating Grace Hymnal (2010), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Hymn Source = Baptist Hymnal (1975), Southern Baptist Convention

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Word of God, across the ages

Comes thy message to our life;

Source of hope forever present

In our toil and fears and strife;

Constant witness to God’s mercy,

Still our grace whate’er befall,

Guide unfailing, strength eternal,

Offered freely to us all.

+++++

Story of man’s wondrous journey

From the shadows of the night;

Garnered truth of sage and prophet,

Guiding forward into light;

Words and deeds of Christ our Master,

Pointing to the life and way,

Still appealing, still inspiring,

‘Mid the struggles of today.

+++++

In the tongues of all the peoples

May the message bless and heal,

As devout and patient scholars

More and more its depths reveal;

Bless, O God, to wise and simple,

All thy truth of ageless worth,

Till all lands receive the witness

And thy knowledge fills the earth.

Above:  Title Page of the Gustav Vasa Bible (1541)

Image in the Public Domain

Swedish Text by Olavus Petri (1493-1552)

English Translation by Ernst W. Olson (1870-1958)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal and Order of Service (1925), The Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod

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Thy sacred Word, O Lord, of old

Was veiled about and darkened,

And in its stead were legends told,

To which the people harkened;

Thy Word, for which the faithful yearned,

The worldlings kept in hiding,

And into human fables turned

Thy truth, the all-abiding.

+++++

Now thanks and praise be to our Lord,

Who boundless grace bestoweth,

And daily through the sacred Word

His precious gifts forthshoweth.

His word is come to light again,

A trusty lamp to guide us;

No strange and divers teachings then

Bewilder and divide us.

Above:  Sunbeams Through Clouds

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1897) by Washington Gladden (1836-1918)

Hymn Source = The Hymnbook (1955), Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Reformed Church in America, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., United Presbyterian Church of North America, and Presbyterian Church in the United States

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1.  O Lord of life, to Thee we lift

Our hearts in praise for those,

Thy prophets, who have shown Thy gift

Of grace that ever grows,

Of truth that spreads from shore to shore to shore,

Of wisdom’s widening ray,

Of light that shineth more and more

Unto Thy perfect day.

2.  Shine forth, O Light, that we may see,

With hearts all unafraid,

The meaning and the mystery

Of things that Thou hast made:

Shine forth, and let the darkling past

Beneath Thy beam grow bright;

Shine forth, and touch the future vast

With Thine untroubled light.

3.  Light up Thy Word; the fettered page

From killing bondage free:

Light up our way; lead forth this age

In love’s large liberty.

O Light of light! within us dwell,

Through us Thy radiance pour,

That word and life Thy truths may tell,

And praise Thee evermore.

Above:  The Gospel Book, Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Cartersville, Georgia, May 10, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America

Words (published originally in twelve stanzas in 1760) by Anne Steele (1716-1778)

This version comes from the Bristol, England, Baptist Collection of Hymns Adapted to Public Worship (1769).

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1.  Father of mercies, in Thy Word

What endless glory shines!

Forever be Thy name adored

For these celestial lines.

2.  Here may the blind and hungry come

And light and food receive;

Here shall the lowliest guest have room

And taste and see and live.

3.  Here springs of consolation rise

To cheer the fainting mind,

And thirsting souls receive supplies

And sweet refreshment find.

4.  Here the Redeemer’s welcome voice

Spreads hean’nly peace around,

And life and everlasting joys

Attend the blissful sound.

5.  Oh, may these heavenly pages be

My ever dear delight;

And still new beauties may I see

And still increasing light!

6.  Divine Instructor, gracious Lord,

Be Thou forever near;

Teach me to love Thy sacred Word

And view my Savior here.

Above:  St. John’s Episcopal Church, College Park, Georgia, October 6, 2013

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://plus.google.com/photos/114749828757741527421/albums/5931728938302459217/5932427666089423042?banner=pwa&pid=5932427666089423042&oid=114749828757741527421)

Hymn Source = Lutheran Common Service Book (1917)

Words (1867) by William Walsham How (1823-1897), Anglican Bishop of Wakefield (1888-1897)

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/feast-of-william-walsham-how-and-frances-jane-douglas-august-10/

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A Slightly Different Version:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/o-word-of-god-incarnate/

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1.  O Word of God Incarnate,

O Wisdom from on high,

O Truth unchanged, unchanging,

O Light of our dark sky!

We praise Thee for the radiance

That from the hallowed page,

A lantern to our footsteps,

Shines on from age to age.

2.  The Church from Thee, her Master,

Received the gift divine,

And still that light she lifteth

O’er all the earth to shine.

It is the golden casket

Where gems of truth are stored;

It is the heaven-drawn picture

Of Thee, the Incarnate Word.

3.  It floateth like a banner

Before God’s host unfurled;

It shineth like a beacon

Above the darkling world;

It is the chart and compass

That o’er life’s surging sea,

‘Mid mists and rocks and quicksands,

Still guides, O Christ, to Thee.

4.  O make Thy Church, dear Saviour,

A lamp of burnished gold,

To bear before the nations

Thy true light, as of old;

O teach Thy wandering pilgrims

By this their path to trace,

Till clouds and darkness ended,

They see Thee face to face.

Above:  A Garden, Between 1898 and 1946

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mpc2005003415/PP/)

Reproduction Number = LC-M352- 96

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1933), of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Words (1863), by Edwin Hodder (1837-1904), English Biographer, Devotional Writer, and Hymn Writer

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/feast-of-edwin-hodder-march-2/

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1.  Thy Word is like a garden, Lord,

With flowers bright and fair;

And everyone who seeks may pluck

A lovely cluster there.

The Word is like a glorious choir,

And loud its anthems ring;

Though many tongues and parts unite,

It is one song they sing.

2.  Thy Word is like an armory,

Where soldiers may repair,

And find for life’s long battle day

All needful weapons there.

O may I find my armor there:

Thy Word my trusty sword,

I’ll learn to fight with every foe

The battle of the Lord.