Beneath the Cross of Jesus

This hymn is in honor of Mary Magdalene who kept vigil "beneath the cross of Jesus" during the Crucifixion, and posted now because yesterday, July 22, is her feast day on the Church calendar.

This hymn was written in 1868 by Elizabeth C. Clephane, and published posthumously in 1872 in the "Family Treasury", a Scottish Presbyterian magazine. The editor introduced the hymn with the following: "These lines express the experiences, the hopes and longings of a young Christian lately released. Written on the very edge of life, with the better land fully in view of faith......".

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Verse 1:

Beneath the cross of Jesus

I fain would take my stand----

The shadow of a mighty Rock

Within a weary land;

A home within the wilderness,

A rest upon the way,

From burning of the noontide heat,

And the burden of the day.

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Verse 2:

O safe and happy shelter

O refuge tried and sweet.

O trysting place where

Heaven's love and Heaven's justice meet!

As to the holy patriarch

That wondrous dream was given,

So seems my Savior's cross to me,

A ladder up to Heaven.

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Verse 3:

Upon the cross of Jesus

Mine eye at times can see

The very dying form of One

Who suffered there for me;

And from my smitten heart with tears

Two wonders I confess----

The wonders of redeeming love

And my unworthiness.

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Verse 4:

I take, O cross, thy shadow

For my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine

Than the sunshine of His face;

Content to let the world go by,

To know no gain nor loss,

My sinful self my only shame,

My glory all the Cross.

AMEN

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Cyberhymnal link: www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/t/btcjesus.htm

Martha's Hands......Mary's Mind

The other day at the Goodwill Store I purchased a tiny book entitled Devotions for Women at Home by Martha Meister Kiely, 1959. On the preface page is this poem called "Prayer Hymn" by Cecily R. Hallack:

Lord of all pots and pans and things,

Since I've no time to be

A saint by doing lovely things,

Or watching late with Thee,

Or dreaming in the dawnlight

Or storming heaven's gates,

Make me a saint by getting meals,

And washing up the plates.

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Although I must have Martha's hands,

I have a Mary mind;

And when I black the boots and shoes,

Thy sandals, Lord, I find.

I think of how they trod the earth,

What time I scrub the floor;

Accept this meditation, Lord,

I haven't time for more.

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Warm all the kitchen with Thy love,

And light it with Thy peace;

Forgive me all my worrying,

And make my grumbling cease.

Thou Who didst love to give men food,

In room, or by the sea,

Accept this service that I do----

I do it unto Thee.

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The first devotion in the book is called "God's Tug on the Apron Strings". Here are some thoughts from it:

"God's tug is firm, constant, and difficult to ignore. Only the insensitiveness of our hearts can keep Him distant.

If we admit Him into our consciousness, He will transform us from housekeepers into His handmaids. We are released from the monotony of tasks no one seem to appreciate or even notice to the freedom of performing each small task "as unto Him".

Allowing God to make Himself known to us in our homes rewards us with divine companionship, eternal purpose, peace that passes understanding, and a joy no one can take from us."

The Wartburg Hymnal

At a garage sale awhile back I purchased an old tattered "Wartburg Hymnal". Its preface is by the compiler, O. Hardwig, of Waverly, Iowa, dated July 1918. Maybe this hymnal was published by or for Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. There seems to be a Lutheran order of service in the front, and services for Sunday School and Young People's Societies, along with Scripture lessons and Psalms. Wartburg College is operated by the ELCA, the nowadays more liberal branch of the Lutheran tree. The campus is lovely, and I've attended many concerts in the Wartburg Chapel and Neumann Auditorium.

Here is hymn number 40 from this "Wartburg Hymnal". Words are by F. T. Palgrave and the tune is "Hesperus" by Henry Baker.

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Verse 1:

Lord God of morning and of night,

We thank Thee for Thy gift of light;

As in the dawn the shadows fly,

We seem to find Thee now more nigh.

Verse 2:

Fresh hopes have wakened in the heart,

Fresh force to do our daily part;

Thy thousand sleeps our strength restore,

A thousand fold to serve Thee more.

Verse 3:

O Lord of lights, 'tis Thou alone

Canst make our darkened hearts Thine own;

O then be with us, Lord, that we

In Thy great day may wake to Thee.

Verse 4:

Praise God, our Maker and our Friend;

Praise Him through time, till time shall end;

Till psalm and song His name adore

Through heaven's great day of evermore.

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Battle Hymn of the American Revolution

In The New American Songbook, published in 1933, the introductory paragraphs give an overview of the types of music that were popular in the early days of America. It states......."The most popular songs with the soldiers of Washington's Army were "Yankee Doodle" and the hymn "Chester". "Chester" was written by William Billings, a tanner's assistant, who was born in Boston in 1746 and who died poor and neglected in his native city in 1800. Billings was a good singer and a great organizer and director. He was chiefly responsible for the development of the organized "singing schools" which were so popular in New England at the end of the 18th century. "Chester" was sung by the Continental Army all through the long years of the Revolutionary War."

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"Chester"

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Verse 1:

Let tyrants shake their iron rod

And slavery clank her galling chains,

We'll fear them not;

We trust in God,

New England's God forever reigns.

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Verse 2:

What grateful offering shall we bring?

What shall we render to the Lord?

Loud hallelujahs let us sing,

And praise His name on every chord.

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Here's more info about this hymn, from its Cyberhymnal webpage: "This hymn was known as the "Battle Hymn of the Revolution". Everywhere, in church and home, by children and the aged, these words were sung with passionate fervor. The soldiers knew them by heart and to the sound of fife and drum they sang them as they advanced to meet the foe. This Battle Hymn contributed not a little to the winning of the Revolutionary War!"

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Cyberhymnal link: www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/t/ltstirod.htm