Psalm 33:13

The Lord looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men.

I loved this devotional by Charles Spurgeon.

Morning...

Perhaps no figure of speech represents God in a more gracious light than when He is spoken of as stooping from His throne, and coming down from heaven to attend to the wants and to behold the woes of mankind. We love Him, who, when Sodom and Gomorrah were full of iniquity, would not destroy those cities until He had made a personal visitation of them. We cannot help pouring out our heart in affection for our Lord who inclines His ear from the highest glory, and puts it to the lip of the dying sinner, whose failing heart longs after reconciliation. How can we but love Him when we know that He numbers the very hairs of our heads, marks our path, and orders our ways? Specially is this great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how attentive He is, not merely to the temporal interests of His creatures, but to their spiritual concerns. Though leagues of distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite Creator, yet there are links uniting both. When a tear is wept by thee, think not that God doth not behold; for, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." Thy sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; thy whisper can incline His ear unto thee; thy prayer can stay His hand; thy faith can move His arm. Think not that God sits on high taking no account of thee. Remember that however poor and needy thou art, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards Him.
Oh! then repeat the truth that never tires;
No God is like the God my soul desires;
He at whose voice heaven trembles, even He,
Great as He is, knows how to stoop to me.

"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah"

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but Thou art mighty; Hold me with Thy powerful hand; Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more, Feed me till I want no more.



Open now the crystal fountain Whence the healing stream doth flow; Let the fire and cloudy pillar Lead me all my journey through; Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer, Be Thou still my Strength and Shield, Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.



When I tread the verge of Jordan, Bid my anxious fears subside; Death of death and hell's destruction, Land me safe on Canaan's side; Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to Thee, I will ever give to Thee.

Words: William Williams (1745) Music: John Hughes (1907)

I love the music to this beautiful hymn. It was also sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. Listen to it here.

Images courtesy of A Source of Joy

Happy Birds

Have you noticed how happy the little birds seem to be in this cooler weather? I hear them singing more, and I enjoy whistling back to them. The other day I saw the cutest little brown baby bird trying to hide behind my large azalea bush. It is times like those that I wish I knew how to use a camera and could share pictures with you.




Song of Solomon 2:12 -
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

Ezekiel 17:23 -
In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

Psalm 124:7 -
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

Psalm 84:3 -
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

Isaiah 31:5 -
As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

Psalm 55:6 -
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

There is a lovely version of "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" at Wanda's Country Home.
Margi Harrell plays it beautifully.

The Lord's Prayer

This is a post from a years ago. I thought it would be good to these times.



There is a movie of The Lord's Prayer found here that I think is beautiful.

Image courtesy of All Posters

"Near to the Heart of God"

There is a place of quiet rest Near to the heart of God,
A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee Near to the heart of God.



There is a place of comfort sweet Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Saviour meet, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee Near to the heart of God.



There is a place of full release Near to the heart of God,
A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee Near to the heart of God.


Words and Music: Cleland B. McAfee, 1903

You can listen to the hymn here.

Images courtesy of Snapshots of Joy.

I'll Fly Away - Allison Krauss

When I used to sell music, Allison Krauss was very popular. Here is one of her pretty videos of the hymn "I'll Fly Away."

"Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice"

When my children were growing up, we were members of a Moravian Church. I don't know if you are familiar with that early Protestant Denomination. You can read about the Moravians here. I love the Moravian Seal (Our Lamb Has Conquered, Let Us Follow Him). Their music is beautiful with chorals and bands. And the traditions of Lovefeasts, Easter Sunrise Services and Christmas teas draw many visitors to Old Salem. I will share more about that later. This is the kind of lovefeast held in the church services here. Coffee is served in a mug with a plain, but delicious, Moravian bun. Hymns are sung during the service. The candles are trimmed at Christmas, and the Christmas Eve services are beautiful. I just found this picture here. I used to sing this sweet hymn often with the children I taught in Sunday School.

Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice



Jesus makes my heart rejoice, I'm his sheep and know His voice;
He's a shepherd, kind and gracious, And His pastures are delicious;
Constant love to me he shows, Yea, my very name He knows.



Trusting His mild staff always, I go in and out in peace;
He will feed me with the treasure Of His grace in richest measure;
When athirst to Him I cry, Living water He'll supply.



Should not I for gladness leap, Led by Jesus as His sheep?
For when these blest days are over To the arms of my dear Saviour
I shall be conveyed to rest, Amen, yea, my lot is blest.

Words: Henrietta Louise von Hayn (1776)
Music: Herrnhut, Herrnhutter Choralbuch (1735)

Listen to the hymn here. We paused longer after the third and fourth phrases.

Images courtesy of All Posters

Beautiful Hymns

Visit my friend Jodi at The Deputy Domain to see two beautifully illustrated hymns, "There Is Power in the Blood" and "Send the Light", dedicated to her little son and her mom, Mimi. Jodi's blog is lovely, and she is a wonderful writer. She is absolutely the best at posting hymns on Sundays.





Patricia, at Pollywog Creek, also had a lovely post Sunday with Psalm 145:1-10. Her blog is always filled with beautiful pictures of her heavenly Father's world.

Here I Am to Worship - Michael W. Smith

This is a beautiful worship song by Michael W. Smith.
You can turn off the sidebar music to watch the video.

Fall in the Air

No spring, nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face;

—John Donne (1572–1631) "Elegy IX: The Autumnal"

There is music in the meadows, in the air–
Autumn is here;
Skies are gray, but hearts are mellow,

—William Stanley Braithwaite, (1878–1962)
"A Lyric of Autumn," Lyrics of Life and Love (1904)

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) "Nature XXVII, Autumn"

I found the Fall Poetry here.

Image courtesy of All Posters

Finally Arriving

Three Little Triplets!

9/12/07
8:47PM - a little girl - 4.5lbs., 17" long
8:49PM - a big little boy 5.1lbs, 18" long
8:49PM - another little girl 4.5lbs., 16 1/2" long
I hope the mother is doing well. No report on her yet,
In the message left for me.

You may remember this post I wrote about Eagerly Awaiting Triplets.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Next day update: Keep praying dear friends. The sweet mother is having a rough time. The little girls are fine, but the little boy is fighting his oxygen.

My brother, the grandfather just called again with names, and it sounds like they are all doing better.

9/14/07
Mom is doing just fine and is recovering from surgery. The two little girls are breathing on their own, and one is eating on her own. I think the little boy is off the oxygen and doing better. Praise the Lord.

The two grandmothers say the babies are so sweet and look like little dolls.

9/15/07
I went to the hospital later this afternoon, and could not believe the mother had gone home! But I am glad, since she has been in there for so long. It is sad though that the little babies are still in the hospital. I pray that soon they will be doing well enough to go home too. :o)

9/20/07
Keep praying for the three little babies and their feedings, Mom and Dad. The little boy needs prayer for his breathing. They are beautiful and healthy looking. Their mother is exhausted from going to the hospital once a day. She has a lot being discussed with her about the babies, and her feet are swelling. Her mother is with her, thank goodness. One grandmother said that when the babies hear her voice, or the other grandmother's, Mom's and Dad's, they try to open one little eye to get a glimpse of them. :o) Sweet little babies know who loves them so much.

9/21/07
Guess what! A precious little baby girl went home with her mommy and daddy! I am so happy. The other little identical twin girl will probably follow closely behind. We will keep praying the sweet little boy will get to go soon.

9/24/07
Sweet little baby sister went home yesterday! The two little girls are sleeping in the same crib. The little brother is improving, breathing on his own and eating on his own. He may get to go home a week from Wednesday. Mommy and Daddy are taking a class, while the two grandmothers babysit. :o) Thank our God for answering prayers.


Baby Prayer

We welcome three tiny babies,
Into this world today.
We pray God bless them and keep them,
Safe in His hand always.

Lord give their parents wisdom,
Patience from you alone.
Let peace abide in their family,
Thanks for your gift of love.

Song by Cathy

The hymn in the next post, "Now Thank We All Our God", I prepared in advance for this occasion.




Image Courtesy of All Posters

"Now Thank We All Our God"

Now Thank We All Our God


Now thank we all our God With hearts and hands and voices, Who wondrous things hath done, In whom His world rejoices; Who from our mother's arms, Hath blest us on our way With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.




O may this bounteous God Thro' all our life be near us, With ever joyful hearts And blessed peace to cheer us; And keep us in His grace, And guide us when perplexed, And free us from all ills In this world and the next.




All praise and thanks to God The Father now be given, The Son, and Him who reigns With them in highest heaven, The one eternal God, Whom earth and heav'n adore; For thus it was, is now, And shall be evermore.

Words: Martin Rinkart; translated by Catherine Winkworth (1636)
Music: Johann Cruger; harmonized by Felix Mendelssohn (1647)

You can listen to the tune at Trinity Hymnal.

Images Courtesy of All Posters

Love

1 Corinthians 13:13 -
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

John 13:34 -
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 3:16 -
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Deuteronomy 6:5 -
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

There is a beautiful movie on Love here.

Image courtesy of All Posters

Our Country

This is an amazing video of FDR's D-Day prayer. How far some in our country have moved away from God, since those days!

You can see the video here.

Recently I have received emails about God protecting us from our enemies. These seemed to me to be about enemies of our country.

108:13 -
Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

109:29 -
Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.

110:1 -
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

I know these are only a few about our enemies. Let us pray that God will have mercy on our country, and protect us and our troops. Also pray that He will reveal the plans of the enemy and destroy the plans of the enemy.

Image courtesy of All Posters

"Jesus Calls Us"

Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult Of our life's wild restless sea, Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, Saying, "Christian, follow Me."



Jesus call us from the worship Of the vain world's golden store, From each idol that would keep us, Saying, "Christian, love me more."



In our joys and in our sorrows, Days of toil and hours of ease, Still He calls in cares and pleasures, "Christians, love Me more than these."



Jesus calls us: by Thy mercies, Savior, may we hear Thy call, Give our hearts to Thine obedience, Serve and love Thee best of all.


Words: Cecil F. Alexander (1852)
Music: William H. Jude (1874)

You can hear the hymn at Trinity Hymnal.

Images courtesy of All Posters

Divine Power

Recently, I love so many of Charles Spurgeon's Devotionals.

Evening...

Ephesians 1:19, 20:
The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.


In the resurrection of Christ, as in our salvation, there was put forth nothing short of a divine power. What shall we say of those who think that conversion is wrought by the free will of man, and is due to his own betterness of disposition? When we shall see the dead rise from the grave by their own power, then may we expect to see ungodly sinners of their own free will turning to Christ. It is not the word preached, nor the word read in itself; all quickening power proceeds from the Holy Ghost. This power was irresistible. All the soldiers and the high priests could not keep the body of Christ in the tomb; Death himself could not hold Jesus in his bonds: even thus irresistible is the power put forth in the believer when he is raised to newness of life. No sin, no corruption, no devils in hell nor sinners upon earth, can stay the hand of God's grace when it intends to convert a man. If God omnipotently says, "Thou shalt," man shall not say, "I will not." Observe that the power which raised Christ from the dead was glorious. It reflected honour upon God and wrought dismay in the hosts of evil. So there is great glory to God in the conversion of every sinner. It was everlasting power. "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him." So we, being raised from the dead, go not back to our dead works nor to our old corruptions, but we live unto God. "Because He lives we live also." "For we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God." "Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Lastly, in the text mark the union of the new life to Jesus. The same power which raised the Head works life in the members. What a blessing to be quickened together with Christ!

"School Days"

School days, school days;
good old golden rule days.
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic;
taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick

The words were written by William D. Cobb, US Songwriter in 1907. This is a quotation from the chorus that was very popular. Music was written by Gus Edwards. I remember my mother singing it. Oh, my goodness, I just found the music for School Days here. He said to please not link to the files, so click on Midi Files under Standards in the right column.

I found the quotation at farese.com.
image courtesy of All Posters

Tributes to Dr. Kennedy

Another tribute to Dr. Kennedy by Al Mohler can be read at Adrian's Blog.


James Dobson of Focus on the Family had this to say about Dr. Kennedy.


Dobson Remembers D. James Kennedy
Calls late pastor “a giant in the battle to restore traditional values in our nation”


September 5, 2007

Colorado Springs, Colo. -- Focus on the Family founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today upon learning of the death of Dr. D. James Kennedy:

“The Church has lost one of its truly significant figures, and American families have lost one of their most passionate, effective defenders. For decades, Dr. Kennedy has been a passionate defender of biblical truth in a culture that increasingly forgot it. He was a giant in the battle to restore traditional values in our nation.

“Most importantly, I believe, Dr. Kennedy would want to be remembered as a man whose greatest desire was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believers around the world are indebted to him for holding firm to that important calling.”

Remembering Dr. Kennedy

Dr. D. James Kennedy, Senior Pastor and Founder of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church passed away today. You can read the news release and visit the memorial site here. There is a wonderful video about his life at the memorial site under Life and Legacy.

I first read about this news at Cindy's Notes in the Key of Life. I knew he had been very sick since his heart trouble last December, but it still came as a shock to me.

I believe that Dr. Kennedy was a great man of God, a scholar and a very brave minister, who was not afraid to stand up for the truth, regarding issues of today. Although, he will be missed, I feel sure his ministry will continue on as he founded it.

Impressive Music

This is a video I have seen before, and really enjoyed. I wanted to share it with you all. And I decided to also show the winning act.

Audition



Final Winning Act



image courtesy of All Posters

God and the Righteous

Here is another wonderful devotional by Charles Spurgeon.

Psalm 11:5
The Lord trieth the righteous.


All events are under the control of Providence; consequently all the trials of our outward life are traceable at once to the great First Cause. Out of the golden gate of God's ordinance the armies of trial march forth in array, clad in their iron armour, and armed with weapons of war. All providences are doors to trial. Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may be drowned in seas of prosperity as well as in rivers of affliction. Our mountains are not too high, and our valleys are not too low for temptations: trials lurk on all roads. Everywhere, above and beneath, we are beset and surrounded with dangers. Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening cloud; every drop has its order ere it hastens to the earth. The trials which come from God are sent to prove and strengthen our graces, and so at once to illustrate the power of divine grace, to test the genuineness of our virtues, and to add to their energy. Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a value upon His people's faith that He will not screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened. You would never have possessed the precious faith which now supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if the wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold upon the precious truths of the covenant grace. Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut; affliction doth this sharp service for believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its resting place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth them to grow rich towards God.

Happy Labor Day

Mt 11:28 -
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Isa 55:12 -
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Joh 13:34 -
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Have a wonderful, blessed Labor Day.

image courtesy of All Posters