A Prayer for Family Worship

O Lord, Who knit our inward parts,
Unite in love our family's hearts
And teach us how to honor Thee,
Our worship giving cheerfully.
Teach us Thy Scripture's depths to plumb,
And to it for our bread to come,
And never let us empty go
But saving truth unto us show.

Teach us to seek Thy face in pray'r,
Beneath Thy wings, to rest us there,
And for our needs to turn to Thee
Who all things givest bountif'lly.
Teach us with joy Thy praise to sing
And hail Thee as our matchless King
And as our great redeeming Lord
Whose blood for us hath been outpoured.

Teach us Thy loving hand to see,
For all things, thanks to give to Thee,
And to extol Thy mighty pow'r,
Revealed to us from hour to hour.
Our lives let never go astray,
But keep us in Thy perfect way
And teach our feeble family
To always turn for strength to Thee.

—Sometime before 8/8/2011. To “Sweet Hour.”

The Perseverance of the Saints

God my Saviour this hath spoken
(He is not a lying man,
Nor can e'er His word be broken;
Doubteth any that He can?),
He will keep me, He will keep me,
This the promise, proffered plain:
Saving grace will not be vain.

Death, Where Now Hath Gone Thy Stinging?

Death, where now hath gone thy stinging?
Fled it at my Lord’s forth-springing!
Grave, hath hence thy vict’ry vanish’d?
Christ thy hellish host hath banish’d!
Though thou didst me once imprison,
Christ from out thy bonds is risen;
He me freeth from thy subjection
By His glorious resurrection!

Once my sin had quite enthrall’d me;
High within its gates I wall’d me.
It, the sting of death, had shown me
How the Law did quite disown me,
Yet the guilt that o’er me reigned
Could not stay His hand, Who deigned
On a wretch to show His pleasure:
Mercy great in greatest measure.

Christ, Thou, great High Priest in Heaven,
As my Paschal Lamb wast given;
Thou aton’d’st for my transgression
And now makest intercession
To Thy Father, Who doth know Thee
And hath plac’d all things below Thee:
He doth love Thee for Thy bleeding—
He shall rule as Thou art pleading.

Praise to Thee that deign’d to love me
Though Thy Law was quite above me;
Through Thy Christ Thou gain’d’st the vict’ry
And from death to life hast quick’d me;
Thou hast promis’d life immortal;
Now is death but Heaven’s portal.
Made was I to this end for Thee:
E’er to ceaselessly adore Thee.

—4/18/11? On 1 Cor 15:55-57. To “Schmücke Dich.”

Break Unto Us the Living Bread

Break unto us the living Bread
Which Thou hast promised Thine;
Keep ever Thou our spirits fed
And with Thee let us dine,
That we may rest at peace in Thee
And Thou in us reside,
For never shall we hunger see
While with Thee we abide.

Faith, Hope, & Love

My faith is in the God of grace
And in His pow'r to save me;
He sent His Son to take my place
And His own Spirit gave me.
I cannot see it, but I know
His wondrous grace hath made it so;
In Him I am established.

My hope is in God's faithful Word;
He said He would remake me
In His own likeness - sweet accord!
When death shall overtake me.
He hath not done it yet, but will;
Till then I can be certain still:
His Word may ne'er be broken.

The love I bear unto my Head
I have, for He first loved me,
And when I was in trespass dead,
He quicked my heart and moved me.
Though yet I love Him and adore,
I pray for grace to love Him more -
How else should I repay Him?

My faith, my hope, and all my love
I give to God, their sender,
But when I am at rest above,
Two shall repay their lender:
For unto sight shall faith be turned,
And hope shall see for what it yearned,
But love shall be for ever!

—2/14/2011. On 1 Cor 13:13. To “Mit Freuden Zart.”