"Wilt Thou Forgive"

The First Sunday of Lent

I'm going to teach this hymn (which is new to me) to our children this week. The words are by John Donne (1573-1631); music harmonized by J.S. Bach (1685-1750).

I had to read through these words a few times, but there is such comfort and truth there.

[The link to the music here has a wrong note which is a little disconcerting, but I can't find a better rendition. Sorry. The painting above is of a young J.S. Bach.]

"Wilt Thou Forgive"

Wilt Thou forgive that sin, by man begun,
Which was my sin though it were done before?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
For I have more.

Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallowed in a score?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I’ve spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son
Shall shine, as He shines now and heretofore:
And, having done that, Thou hast done:

Tired and Tense (George and Martha-Part 2)

It was customary for Martha Washington to join her husband while the armies for both sides wintered in one spot and ceased fighting for a time. She encouraged George, bouyed the spirits of all who met her, mended uniforms, and made bandages with other officers' wives. The third winter of the Revolutionary War (1777-1778) was spent at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (drawing above). What a difficult winter it was, too.

"The tired and tense faces of the lonely men brightened into smiles in her [Martha's] company, but she saw with pity and concern the threadbare coats and ragged breeches and stockings, the weather-stained buckskin and broadcloth worn by the officers...

She pitied too the gaunt, heavy-footed saddle horses, whose well-polished equipment and loving grooming could not hide their bones.

As for the men in the huts, they often went for days together without a mouthful of meat, and their clothes were indecent rags. Many were barefoot, and for lack of blankets they sat up around the fires all night to keep from freezing. The hospitals - inevitably - were the worst of all, and everyone did his best to keep out of them."

There were many things that contributed to the ultimate victory over Britain, but there are times when one must marvel at the seemingly impossible obstacles facing Washington and his men.

(text from Lady Washington by Elswyth Thane)

Apparent Serenity (George and Martha-Part 1)

I have just finished a biography of Martha Washington by Elswyth Thane. For me, it was a splendid way to read about American history by looking at it through Martha's eyes. I think, too, that I have enjoyed reading about a true statesman, which seems to be in short supply these days. Here's a lovely example of Thane's writing as she describes Martha's observations of George very early on in the war with Britain.

"Better than anyone else, she could trace in his face and bearing the almost superhuman self-control which enabled him to sit at the dinner table cracking nuts and drinking little toasts in apparent serenity, for the sake of maintaining the spirits of the men who depended on him for guidance and support, and for the deception of the watchful guests who were always eager for his hospitality. She did not suspect the sleight of hand he performed with the returns on enlistment, desertion, and sick, so that no one officer, not even Harrison, ever saw the whole dreadful situation at any one time. She could guess at his hours of discouragement and despair, spent alone at his desk behind a closed door when other weary men had gone to bed. And she could see him aging day by day under the crushing load he had set himself to carry alone--in the tightening lips and jawline, in the hooded ice-blue gaze, the enigmatic drop of the lean eyelids, the deliberate levelness of tone when he spoke."

from Washington's Lady by Elswyth Thane
(drawing is of a young Martha)

"Beautiful Savior"

As I prepare to say good-bye to Epiphany and contemplate the season of Lent, I'll share this hymn which is recommended by Sing for Joy for this Lord's Day. The words were written by German Jesuits and published in a German songbook (from Munster, Germany) in 1677. Perhaps a more well known version is "Fairest Lord Jesus," but the words below are the original translation to English, done by a Lutheran pastor in America in 1873.

"Beautiful Savior"

Beautiful Savior, King of Creation
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.

Fair are the meadows, Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in the flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.

Fair is the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.

Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, Praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be Thine!

(the above drawing is a detail from a 1572 map of Munster, Germany)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A week or so ago, I received an e-newsletter from a lady who used to have a catalog geared to home schoolers. Now she is into internet businesses. Her newsletter was touting a new DVD conference given by a millionaire who made his money on internet businesses. I clicked on a link to check it out, just out of curiosity. What I found was not pretty. This millionaire can't seem to spring for an editor. His advertisement was full of misspellings and punctuation errors. Clicking on the link caused me to receive multiple unsolicited e-mails from him daily for about a week. And to add insult to injury, I discovered that this Christian home school mom was receiving money for every person who clicked on the link. I felt used and angry.

That's the bad and the ugly.

Now, the good.

Two Christian agrarian blogs which I read often are both offering help to other agrarians out there. Scott at Homesteader Life wants to find homes for some good milk cows. Northern Farmer is giving away corn seeds.

These two unselfish men are willing to help others get started in a lifestyle which they appreciate greatly. They aren't in it to get rich quick. Or to beat the system. They want to raise their families...living off the land, simply, and together.

Just thought it was an interesting comparison.

"Immortal, Invisible"

The kids and I are singing this hymn this week. I had forgotten how much I liked it and am thoroughly enjoying visiting an "old friend". The words were penned by Scottish pastor, Walter C. Smith (1824-1908). The melody was written by John Roberts (1822-1877), a Welsh pastor and musician (Welsh name: Ieuan Gwyltt). Roberts not only wrote many melodies, but encouraged entire congregations to learn various melodies in a book he published in order to "raise the standard of Sunday song."

Seems that we could use a bit of that philosophy today!

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.

All laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.

(photo above is of Llanberis, Wales; the village where Roberts spent his last pastorate until retirement)

The Harvard Coasters

This isn't at all what I planned to blog about today. I have a couple of Bible verses I wanted to write about, but...you see, I ran across these coasters...

My dad will have been gone now for four years, come May. It's hard to believe. I still have an unsettled feeling every weekend when I don't make my weekly phone call to him, halfway across the country.

In his last years, my dad had a very nice lady friend. She boxed up a few things of his and sent them out to me over a year ago. I just couldn't bring myself to dig too deeply in the box so I didn't really know what it contained. Without planning to, I looked in the box this evening. When I unwrapped his Cleveland Browns mug I almost cried. It brought back so many memories of my brothers and I watching his beloved Browns with him when I was a child. I'm not quite ready to take it out of the box yet, but it's nice knowing it's there.

Then I ran across the Harvard coasters, and another flood of memories came back. I had totally forgotten about them. A gift from my Dad's brother, a Harvard Law School grad, they are made of copper and sport the Harvard crest. Suddenly I could picture our coffee table, and my dad sitting on the couch listening to jazz and studying a score for his next band concert. Back when life was simpler.

It makes me wonder what seemingly insignificant things will trigger good memories for my own children some 40 years hence. Although we Americans seem to have so much more stuff compared to when I was growning up, I pray that my children have good memories of a home filled with love of the Lord and love of each other. I hope they run across their own Harvard coasters and bask in good memories, too.

Pharaoh and Me

This commentary on Exodus (quoted below) brought up an interesting thought.

The struggle between God and Pharaoh is classic because it demonstrates how all men and women tend to struggle with God. Pharaoh will first reject God altogether, then respond to the initial demonstrations of God's power by believing in the artificial manifestations of power which human trickery can devise. When even the tricks of his magicians cannot duplicate the plagues brought against his people and property, Pharaoh will try to avoid God through procrastination, compromise, and insincere repentance. With each attempt at resisting God, Pharaoh's heart gets harder, until he is unmoved by even the threat of death to his people.

(from The Daily Bible In Chronological Order (Jan. 23) with commentary by F. LaGard Smith)

Lord, forgive my tendencies to be more like Pharaoh than I'd like to admit. And please soften the hearts of my family members who still don't know You.

"Earth Has Many a Noble City"

I began this blog as a means to get some hymns floating around in space when I was frustrated with our family's efforts to find a new church home. The evolution of our current church which broke away from the Episcopal church has been most frustrating. The decision makers are turning their backs on the Anglican heritage and are heading down a path which includes a seeker friendly, contemporary worship style. To counteract these disturbing trends, I guess I'll have to go back to posting hymns every Sunday just to maintain my sanity.

Here is an epiphany hymn written in the 4th or 5th century.

(Remember to scroll down and turn off this blog's music on the right before clicking on the link below to access the music and complete text for this hymn.)

Earth Has Many a Noble City

Earth has many a noble city;
Bethlehem, thou dost all excel;
Out of thee the Lord from heaven
Came to rule his Israel.

Jesus, whom the Gentiles worshiped
At thy glad epiphany,
Unto thee, with God the Father
And the Spirit, glory be.

Big Ag vs. the Family Farm

It's not really fair to use this as my title, but this is exactly what I thought when the following story happened.

Our suburban house is across the street from an elementary school and an adjacent soccer field. On occasion, people who don't have anything better to do will drink a six-pack of beer in the parking lot. Those who REALLY don't have anything better to do will break a few beer bottles on the pavement and conspicuously leave behind the proof of their idiocy.

Last month, there was a substantial remnant of misplaced exuberant mirth. Broken glass littered several feet of the sidewalk where we walk our dog every day between Math and Reading. Each day, we walked our dog far away from the glass, and I picked up a handful of glass shards to throw away. After about a week, we began to notice a difference, but there was still much more glass to dispose of. Then, it snowed a few inches. The city sent out one of their guys on a little plow to clean the sidewalk around the soccer field. They couldn't have known what their good deed would do. The glass was now pushed off the sidewalk and scattered in the grass alongside the walk.

As we walked past the familiar spot, I realized that I would not be able to easily retrieve the glass any longer. It will be lying in wait for an unsuspecting barefooted child or dog to step in the grass come next summer and receive a nasty cut on their foot.

That was when I thought, 'This is like the difference between big ag and the family farm.' The family farmer knows his animals and land intimately. He rights wrongs, he fixes things, he has personal knowledge and pride in what he raises. He cares about his customers. He knows many of them by name. He may go to church with some of them. His wife may take over a casserole when one of them has a baby. If he has broken glass in his barn, he knows about it and makes sure it gets cleaned up.

God bless the family farmers. May they prosper

"Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New"

For Carla:

To listen to this hymn, scroll down on the right and turn off the music on the Sonific box. Then click on the title below.

"Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New"

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife,
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweet manners, purer laws.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

"The People Who in Darkness Walked"

This Epiphany hymn, based upon Isiah 9:2-7, was penned by John Morison (1749-1798).




The People Who in Darkness Walked
The people who in darkness walked
have seen a glorious light;
on them broke forth the heavenly dawn
who dwelt in death and night.

To hail thy rising, Sun of life,
the gathering nations come,
joyous as when the reapers bear
their harvest treasures home.

To us the promised Child is born,
to us the Son is given;
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
and all the hosts of heaven.

His name shall be the Prince of Peace
for evermore adored,
the Wonderful, the Counsellor,
the mighty God and Lord.

His power increasing still shall spread,
His reign no end shall know;
justice shall guard His throne above,
and peace abound below.

A Legacy

As I contemplate resolutions, new beginnings, and making improvements, I ran across the following while doing genealogy research. It appears on a tombstone in a Culpeper County (Virginia) cemetery and makes me pause. What legacy I am creating for my children and others I love?

Sacred to the memory of My beloved husband
Capt. John Fray (May 23, 1840 - December 28, 1884)
...His many virtues form the noblest monument to his memory...

A brave soldier, a consistent Christian, a faithful friend, a devoted husband and father, true to God and man in whose character were blended principle, integrity and the highest sense of honor. In life he possessed the confidence, esteem and affection of all who knew him. Leaving behind him to his bereaved family and sorrowing friends a memory fragrant with good deeds and noble impulses.

Oh, that I could live a life fragrant with good deeds and noble impulses!

(The photo above was taken by the famous Civil War photographer, Matthew Brady. These three confederate soldiers were captured by the North at Gettysburg in 1863. I don't know what ultimately happened to them, but something about the picture was intriguing to me.)

Made in China

I've got a dozen ideas rolling around in my head and no time to write. Such is the December life in a family with two musicians and one ballerina.

While driving this evening to my job playing a Christmas extravaganza at what our son calls The Starbucks Church (another potential post), I spied this bumper sticker:

Made in China
Loved in America

The bottom of the bumper sticker had the website address of a popular local adoption agency that specializes in adoptions from China.

As the mother of two children adopted from Korea, I found this very offensive. What do most people think of when they hear the term, Made in China? Especially nowadays, they think lead poisoning, unhealthy, inferior, cheap, tacky, destined for the trash heap, etc.

The precious babies that are conceived, carried, and placed for adoption in a country with a barbaric one-child policy are none of these things. They are human beings, created in the image of God. In addition, I daresay that the vast majority of them were very loved. They just happened to be the wrong gender in a country where only one child is allowed, and a son will be the one to care for you when you're older.

Dear Lord, I pray your special blessing on orphans, their birth families (especially the birth mothers), and their adoptive families.

"Wake, Awake"

First Sunday of Advent

I wish I could have sung this hymn today. It is one of the recommended hymns to accompany today's scripture readings. The fact that it's composed by J.S. Bach is usually a guarantee that it goes straight to my "Favorites" list!

Part of the hymn includes these words:

Ah come, Thou blessèd One, God’s own belovèd Son:
Alleluia! We follow till the halls we see
Where Thou hast bid us sup with Thee.

Before I was a Christian, I knew that Christmas was a celebration of the birth of Jesus. My family put up our creche every year. The one we made at the church we attended when I was ages 9-11. But I didn't understand who He was, why He had to come, and certainly not why He had to die and be resurrected.

Each Christmas as I get older, I am afforded more and more glimpses into the answers to these questions.

May I continue to marvel in the miracle of the Baby Who came to die for me and may I learn what it means to follow Him.

(Don't forget to first turn off the blog music by scrolling down on the right. Then you can go to the link above and hear the hymn played and read all verses. Illustration above is of Johann S. Bach in his earlier years.)