Wednesday, February 19, 2020

More Holiness Hymns

I am still in the "Holiness" section of the hymnal (cf. previous post), and I thought I would share all three of the hymns for the day.  The first two are classic Charles Wesley hymns, and the third is by the American Methodist hymn writer, Lelia N. Morris, 1908. 

You will notice a marked distinction between the older, Wesley hymns and the one from the American Holiness Movement.  The former look toward or anticipate (in this life!) the experience of that "second rest" of "perfect love."  The latter is a celebratory testimony of God's "saving, sanctifying pow'r" and an invitation for others to "Boldly cross the Jordan's tide."  -  Both are very much a part of our heritage and identity in the Church of the Nazarene.

I hope you enjoy the hymns, and I hope that they prove to be a blessing to you!

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav'n, to earth come down!
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling;
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion;
Pure, unbounded love Thou art.
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

 
2. Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into ev'ry troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be.
End of faith, as its Beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

3. Come, Almighty to Deliver;
Let us all Thy life receive.
Suddenly return, and never,
Nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.

4. Finish then Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation,
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.



Jesus, My Strength, My Hope
 
1. Jesus, my strength, my hope,
On Thee I cast my care,
With humble confidence look up,
And know Thou hear'st my prayer.
Give me on Thee to wait
Till I can all things do;
On Thee, almighty to create,
Almighty to renew.

2. I want a godly fear,
A quick-discerning eye
That looks to Thee when sin is near
And sees the tempter fly;
A spirit still prepared
And armed with jealous care,
Forever standing on its guard
And watching unto prayer.

3. I want a true regard,
A single, steady aim,
Unmoved by threat'ning or reward,
To Thee and Thy great name;
A jealous, just concern
For Thine immortal praise;
A pure desire that all may learn
And glorify Thy grace.

4. I rest upon Thy Word;
the promise is for me:
My comfort and salvation, Lord,
Shall surely come from Thee.
But let me still abide,
Nor from my hope remove,
Till Thou my patient spirit guide
Into Thy perfect love.



Sanctifying Power
1. There is sanctifying pow'r,
Like a sweet, refreshing show'r,
Waiting for each consecrated heart:
Pow'r to cleanse us from all sin,
Pow'r to keep us pure within,
Pow'r for service which He will impart.

(Refrain) I'm so glad, I'm so glad
For this saving, sanctifying pow'r!
Waves of glory o'er me roll;
Peace abides within my soul.
I'm so glad for this sanctifying pow'r!

2. I'm so glad it reaches me,
All unworthy tho' I be,
Overcoming grace made freely mine.
Since the Comforter abides,
And within my heart resides,
I am walking in the light of divine.

3. This God's will for you and me,
That we sanctified should be,
Dwelling in this land of plenteousness.
Fling your doubts and fears aside;
Boldly cross the Jordan's tide,
And your heritage in Christ possess.

4. Songs of praises let us sing
To our blessed Lord and King
For this great salvation rich and free:
Ev'ry needed grace supplied,
Ev'ry longing satisfied,
Saved for time and for eternity.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Holiness Hymns

 I have mentioned it before, but I tend to sing (usually three) songs when I pray the Daily Office.  I am currently singing through the Nazarene hymnal, Sing to the Lord, once again.  Today, I was in the section on holiness.  In fact, among the three that I sang was one of my three favorite hymns, Holiness unto to Lord.  (My other two are And Can It Be? by Charles Wesley and The Love of God by Frederick M. Lehman and Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai.)

This hymn holds special meaning for me, not only because of its content, but also because it is sung at every ordination service in the Church of the Nazarene.  -  It is unfortunate that, with so many churches moving exclusively to more modern songs, the message of this and several other holiness hymns has been lost for those congregations.  This is also the case for the theology of other classical Wesley hymns, as well as those that belong to the larger Christian Church.  -  I am not opposed to contemporary songs.  In fact, I like many of them.  However, if that is all we are singing, we are probably missing something import.

Holiness unto the Lord was written by Lelia N. Morris in 1900.  Mrs. Morris was a Methodist who wrote more than 1,000 gospel songs, including a number of holiness hymns; this being among them.

Holiness unto the Lord
1. "Called unto holiness," Church of our God,
Purchase of Jesus, redeemed by His blood;
Called from the world and its idols to flee,
Called from the bondage of sin to be free.
(Refrain) "Holiness unto the Lord" is our watch-word and song;
"Holiness unto the Lord" as we're marching along.
Sing it, shout it, loud and long:
"Holiness unto the Lord" now and forever.
2. "Called unto holiness," children of light,
Walking with Jesus in garments of white;
Raiment unsullied, nor tarnished with sin;
God's Holy Spirit abiding within.
3. "Called unto holiness," praise His dear name!
This blessed secret to faith now made plain:
Not our own righteousness, but Christ within,
Living and reigning, and saving from sin.
4. "Called unto holiness," bride of the Lamb,
Waiting the Bride-groom's returning again!
Lift up your heads, for the day draweth near
When in His beauty the King shall appear!
 
In addition to Holiness unto the Lord, I also sang Glorious Freedom.  Again, so many Nazarene churches are missing out on these songs that re-enforce our Wesleyan-holiness emphasis on entire sanctification.

Glorious Freedom
 
1. Once I was bound by sin's galling fetters;
Chained like a slave, I struggled in vain.
But I received a glorious freedom
When Jesus broke my fetters in twain.

(Refrain) Glorious freedom! Wonderful freedom!
No more in chains of sin I repine!
Jesus, the glorious Emancipator -
Now and forever He shall be mine.

2. Freedom from all the carnal affections;
Freedom from envy, hatred, and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions;
Freedom from all that saddened my life!

3. Freedom from pride and all sinful follies;
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil temper and anger;
Glorious freedom, rapture untold!

4. Freedom from fear with all of its torments;
Freedom from care with all of its pain;
Freedom in Christ, my blessed Redeemer -
He who has rent my fetters in twain.
 
 
One might ask, what if my experience does not match the freedom that this hymn describes?  Indeed, it would be likely that there would be plenty within a congregation that would not claim this testimony.  But in that case, I would paraphrase the advice once given to John Wesley when he was searching for assurance of faith.  Sing it until you experience the grace described in the hymn, and then you will sing it because you have experience that grace!

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

An Article of Interest

Today, I read an article linked to Facebook that I thought was worth sharing with those who read this blog.  The article is entitle "Living in the Liturgy: My Anglican Journey."  It was written by Lisa Syner and has been published on the Anglican Pastor site.

Many who come here may well be comfortable in what is often called "liturgical worship."  However, some may be here who are just exploring the liturgy.  For you, especially, I thought that it might be good to read someone else's testimony of the power of God at work through the liturgy; a liturgy similar to the one that John Wesley left those of us in the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition.

Now, I say, "similar," because the worship described is based in a version of the Book of Common Prayer, and John Wesley gave to the Methodists in North America a version of the prayer book, as well.  Nevertheless, it is unlikely that one would have smelled incense during worship in Wesley's service, nor would you likely have seen anyone genuflecting during Wesley's day (though, perhaps, there would be the bowing of the head).  Some of those kinds of things were recovered in the Anglican tradition after Wesley's time.  -  In any case, the author of the article describes her first experience of this kind of worship, and expresses how God has used it in a powerful way to shape her life.

Wherever you fall in your experience of worship, I hope that you find the article helpful.  It can be found, here.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

A Wesleyan Understanding of the Real Presence

I just finished shooting a video for my YouTube channel on the topic of a Wesleyan understanding of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  -  I am trying to get the hang of how to do YouTube!  -  Anyway, I want to encourage you to take a look using the W/A YouTube link in the sidebar (though I am going to go ahead and embed the video, here).  -  If you do take a look via YouTube, be sure to hit the like button!

In the video, I reference one of the Wesley Eucharistic Hymns, and I have printed it out, for your convenience, below the video.  In the United Methodist Hymnal, the tune is "Stookey," and the alternate tune is "Amsterdam." The latter is the tune used for "Celebrate Immanuel's Name."




O the Depth of Love Divine
 
1. O the depth of love divine,
the unfathomable grace!
Who shall say how bread and wine
God into us conveys!
How the bread his flesh imparts,
how the wine transmits his blood,
fills his faithful people's hearts
with all the life of God!

2. Let the wisest mortals show
how we the grace receive;
feeble elements bestow
a power not theirs to give.
Who explains the wondrous way,
how through these the virtue came?
These the virtue did convey,
yet still remain the same.

3. How can spirits heavenward rise,
by earthly matter fed,
drink here with divine supplies
and eat immortal bread?
Ask the Father's wisdom how:
Christ who did the means ordain;
angels round our altars bow
to search it out, in vain.

4. Sure and real is the grace,
the manner be unknown;
only meet us in thy ways
and perfect us in one.
Let us taste the heavenly powers,
Lord, we ask for nothing more.
Thine to bless, 'tis only ours
to wonder and adore.