Amazing Grace, Verse 2

 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,  

And grace my fears relieved:  

How precious did that grace appear  

The hour I first believed!

   * * * 

 John 8:1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.  3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?  6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.  

Psalm 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. 

Amazing Grace

 

Amazing Grace is the quintessential hymn. The words were written by John Newton, a slave trader who eventually became a minister. The tune is of unknown origin. It is a simple and elegant pentatonic melody that, in large part, has made the hymn the icon it is today.   

VERSE 1

 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound  

That saved a wretch like me!  

I once was lost, but now am found,  

Was blind, but now I see.    

John 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.  6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.  8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. 10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. 12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.  13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. 14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. 15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. 16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.  17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. 18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? 20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. 22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.  24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. 25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. 

 

Caveat Emptor

Okay, so... I want to do something different. I've got a couple of big projects going, separate from blogs and books. I'm trying to wrangle my million photographs (yes, I counted -- there are a million+) into a more organized system, and winnowing the multitudes of duplicates. It's a huge undertaking, and very time-consuming. At the same time, I'm determined to make sure all my photos are labeled, so I can find pictures more accurately with a search.

I said all that to say this --

Instead of creating my blog posts from scratch each day, I'm gonna cheat a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love doing the posts, but I need to budget my time a little better. So what I'm gonna do is use my published books as blog posts for a while. 

For the WoodsFull blog I'll use THE WOODS IS FULL OF 'EM, WHEN WE WERE IRISH, and SECRET AND RESOLUTE. These books, in total, cover all branches of the family tree.

For the HeartBells blog I'll use HEART BELLS, and the three volumes of HYMNOLOGY.

For the Crystianne blog I'm going to continue with my poems, supplemented with the two STORYWORTH books I did for Christopher a few years ago. Those have not been published and are not available on Amazon. They consist of my anecdotes about my own life.

Adele's blog is still a work in progress and will continue to be baked up fresh every day. I'm having a lot of fun with it!

I'm just doing all of this for fun. Same reason I published my books -- for my own pleasure. And if anyone else gets some enjoyment from it, too, that's gravy. 

So... here we go.

Wonderful Peace

WONDERFUL PEACE

1

Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight

Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;

In celestial-like strains it unceasingly falls

O'er my soul like an infinite calm.

2

What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,

Buried deep in the heart of my soul,

So secure that no power can mine it away,

While the years of eternity roll!

3

I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace,

Resting sweetly in Jesus' control;

For I'm kept from all danger by night and by day,

And His glory is flooding my soul.

4

And methinks when I rise to that city of peace,

Where the Author of peace I shall see,

That one strain of the song which the ransomed will sing

In that heavenly kingdom will be:

5

Ah! soul, are you here without comfort or rest,

Marching down the rough pathway of time?

Make Jesus your friend ere the shadows grow dark;

O accept of His peace so sublime.

CHORUS

Peace, peace, wonderful peace,

Coming down from the Father above!

Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,

In fathomless billows of love.

W. D. Cornell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76cchtSVgkk&list=RD76cchtSVgkk&start_radio=1

This is a new group I have just discovered. I haven't watched any more of their videos, but I'm struck by their precision, not only of the singing and harmonies, but the matching dress suits -- even the ties match -- and absolutely no extraneous physical movement during the performance. All the men have traditional short haircuts even though it's a racially diverse group, and there is a consistency of presentation and strict attention to detail that is not easy to find. 

 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. ~Isaiah 26:3

Far and Near

 

1 

Far and near the fields are teeming

with the waves of ripened grain;

far and near their gold is gleaming

o'er the sunny slope and plain.

Chorus:

Lord of harvest, send forth reapers;

hear us, Lord, to thee we cry;

send them now the sheaves to gather,

ere the harvest-time pass by.

2 

Send them forth with morn's first beaming,

send them in the noontide's glare;

when the sun's last rays are gleaming,

bid them gather ev'rywhere. [Chorus]

3 

Thou whom Christ the Lord is sending,

gather now the sheaves of gold;

heav'nward then at evening wending,

thou shalt come with joy untold. [Chorus]

 

Author: James Oren Thompson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtpIP1_6jTQ&list=RDUtpIP1_6jTQ&start_radio=1

Faith of Our Fathers

1

Faith of our fathers, living still

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,

O how our hearts beat high with joy

Whene’er we hear that glorious word!

2

Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,

Were still in heart and conscience free;

And blest would be their children’s fate,

If they, like them should die for thee:

3

Faith of our fathers, we will strive

To win all nations unto thee;

And through the truth that comes from God

Mankind shall then indeed be free.

4

Faith of our fathers, we will love

Both friend and foe in all our strife,

And preach thee, too, as love knows how

By kindly words and virtuous life.

REFRAIN

Faith of our fathers! holy faith!

We will be true to thee till death!

Frederick William Faber (1814-1863)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxuLFgajZ04&list=RDuxuLFgajZ048&start_radio=1

Face to Face

1

Face to face with Christ, my Savior

Face to face, what will it be?

When with rapture I behold him

Jesus Christ who died for me

2

Only faintly now I see him

With the darkened veil between

But a blessed day is coming

When his glory shall be seen

3

Face to face, oh, blissful moment

Face to face, to see and know

Face to face with my Redeemer

Jesus Christ who loved me so

CHORUS

Face to face shall I behold him

Far beyond the starry sky

Face to face in all his glory

I shall see him by and by

Author: Carrie Ellis Breck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuLig-W4wSU&list=RDSuLig-W4wSU&start_radio=1

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. ~I Corinthians 13:12

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. ~I John 3:2