Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity. Release me from the idea that I must straighten out other peoples' affairs. With my immense treasure of experience and wisdom, it seems a pity not to let everybody partake of it. But thou knowest, Lord, that in the end I will need a few friends. Keep me from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Grant me the patience to listen to the complaints of others; help me to endure them with charity. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains -- they increase with the increasing years and my inclination to recount them is also increasing. I will not ask thee for improved memory, only for a little more humility and less self-assurance when my own memory doesn't agree with that of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong. Keep me reasonably gentle. I do not have the ambition to become a saint -- it is so hard to live with some of them -- but a harsh old person is one of the devil's masterpieces. Make me sympathetic without being sentimental, helpful but not bossy. Let me discover merits where I had not expected them, and talents in people whom I had not thought to possess any. And, Lord, give me the grace to tell them so. Amen Margot Benary-Isbert |
Monday, December 29, 2014
Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Are you Overwhelmed?
Are you Overwhelmed?
Bee Overwhelmed by Gods LOVE!
Bee Overcome so you can Over Come!
Buried with Christ, your sins are washed away in the sea of forgetfulness!
Are you Struggling?
Put on the Garment of Praise for the spirit of heaviness!
Look UP to the Joy in Jesus!
Let His LOVE Flood your soul!
Lift up your hands in His Holy Place!
Your standing on Holy Ground!
Surrounded by the LOVE and Light of the Holy Spirit!
Hymn
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.
Bee Overwhelmed by Gods LOVE!
Bee Overcome so you can Over Come!
Buried with Christ, your sins are washed away in the sea of forgetfulness!
Are you Struggling?
Put on the Garment of Praise for the spirit of heaviness!
Look UP to the Joy in Jesus!
Let His LOVE Flood your soul!
Lift up your hands in His Holy Place!
Your standing on Holy Ground!
Surrounded by the LOVE and Light of the Holy Spirit!
Hymn
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
AWAKE, MY SOUL, AND WITH THE SUN
AWAKE, MY SOUL, AND WITH THE SUN
"When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness." Psalm 17:15
Words: Thomas Ken, Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College, 1674.
Music: Mainzer, Joseph Mainzer, circa 1845.
Alternate tunes:
Dawn, in A Compilation of Genuine Church Music, by Joseph Funk, 4th edition, 1847.
Morning Hymn, François H. Barthélémon, 1785. Barthélémon wrote this music for these words, at the request of an orphanage chaplain in London; it was first published in A Supplement to the Hymns and Psalms Used at the Asylum or House of Refuge for Female Orphans, printed for William Gawler, organist to the Asylum (London: circa 1785).
The Morning Watch, Carl F. Price, 1913
Ken wrote this hymn at a time when the established church believed only Scripture should be sung as hymns—with an emphasis on the Psalms. Some considered it sinful and blasphemous to write new lyrics for church music, akin to adding to the Scriptures. In that atmosphere, Ken wrote this and several other hymns for the boys at Winchester College, with strict instructions that they use them only in their rooms, for private devotions. Ironically, the last stanza has come into widespread use as the Doxology, perhaps the most frequently used piece of music in public worship. At Ken's request, the hymn was sung at his funeral, fittingly held at sunrise.
Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.
Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.
By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven's propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.
In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.
Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.
All praise to Thee, who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.
Heav'n is, dear Lord, where'er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul 'tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.
Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.
Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.
I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
"When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness." Psalm 17:15
Words: Thomas Ken, Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College, 1674.
Music: Mainzer, Joseph Mainzer, circa 1845.
Alternate tunes:
Dawn, in A Compilation of Genuine Church Music, by Joseph Funk, 4th edition, 1847.
Morning Hymn, François H. Barthélémon, 1785. Barthélémon wrote this music for these words, at the request of an orphanage chaplain in London; it was first published in A Supplement to the Hymns and Psalms Used at the Asylum or House of Refuge for Female Orphans, printed for William Gawler, organist to the Asylum (London: circa 1785).
The Morning Watch, Carl F. Price, 1913
Ken wrote this hymn at a time when the established church believed only Scripture should be sung as hymns—with an emphasis on the Psalms. Some considered it sinful and blasphemous to write new lyrics for church music, akin to adding to the Scriptures. In that atmosphere, Ken wrote this and several other hymns for the boys at Winchester College, with strict instructions that they use them only in their rooms, for private devotions. Ironically, the last stanza has come into widespread use as the Doxology, perhaps the most frequently used piece of music in public worship. At Ken's request, the hymn was sung at his funeral, fittingly held at sunrise.
Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.
Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.
By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven's propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.
In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.
Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.
All praise to Thee, who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.
Heav'n is, dear Lord, where'er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul 'tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.
Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.
Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.
I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
PRAISE GOD, FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW
PRAISE GOD, FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW
Doxology
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from…the Father." James 1:17
Words: Thomas Ken, 1674. These lyrics, sung as the Doxology in many churches, are actually the last verse of a longer hymn, Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun.
Music: Old 100th, Genevan Psalter, 1551, attributed to Louis Bourgeois (MIDI, score).
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Doxology
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from…the Father." James 1:17
Words: Thomas Ken, 1674. These lyrics, sung as the Doxology in many churches, are actually the last verse of a longer hymn, Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun.
Music: Old 100th, Genevan Psalter, 1551, attributed to Louis Bourgeois (MIDI, score).
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Promises you can Believe
Promises you can Believe
"...I am watching to see that My Word is fulfilled."
"Ask, and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things."
"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
"...my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
"You will pray to Him, and He will hear you..."
"This is the confidence that we have approaching God: that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us."
"And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have
what we asked of Him."
"And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son
may bring glory to the Father."
"So is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
"If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you."
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for,
it will be done for you by My Father in heaven."
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last.
Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name."
"Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you."
"Before they call, I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear."
"He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him."
"May my prayer be set before You like incense; may the
lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice."
"...I am watching to see that My Word is fulfilled."
"Ask, and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things."
"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
"...my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
"You will pray to Him, and He will hear you..."
"This is the confidence that we have approaching God: that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us."
"And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have
what we asked of Him."
"And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son
may bring glory to the Father."
"So is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
"If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you."
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for,
it will be done for you by My Father in heaven."
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last.
Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name."
"Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you."
"Before they call, I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear."
"He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him."
"May my prayer be set before You like incense; may the
lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice."
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