Good Night and Good Morning

1

When comes to the wea­ry

A bless­èd re­lease,

When up­ward we pass

To His king­dom of peace,

When free from the woes

That on earth we must bear,

We’ll say good night here,

But good morn­ing up there.

Refrain

Good morn­ing up there

Where Christ is the light,

Good morn­ing up there

Where com­eth no night;

When we step from this earth

To God’s Heav­en so fair,

We’ll say good night here

But good morn­ing up there.

2

When fad­eth the day and

Dark sha­dows draw nigh,

With Christ close at hand,

It is not death to die;

He’ll wipe ev­ery tear,

Roll away ev­ery care;

We’ll say good night here,

But good morn­ing up there.

[Refrain]

3

When home lights we see

Shining bright­ly above,

Where we shall be soon,

Through His won­der­ful love,

We’ll praise Him who called us

His Heav­en to share,

We’ll say good night here

But good morn­ing up there.

[Refrain]

This hymn was written by Lizzie Douglass Foulks DeArmond. Born on July 23, 1847 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died on October 26, 1936, at her home in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, she was a prolific author of hundreds of children hymns, and poems and thus a familiar name to many Sunday School teachers. 

Homer Rodeheaver Alvan (1880-1955) composed the tune. He was an evangelist and the music director of Billy Sunday's evangelistic campaigns.

Out of her grief for the loss of her daughter, Lizzie DeArmond suffered and  questioned the Lord. One night, God spoke to her and that night, gave her this hymn of comfort which has since been a comfort to many others who lost loved ones.

These are her words:

"When God called my girl to live with Him, I felt I could not spare her, and it left an ache in my heart that was difficult to bear. The ever present, persistent question, Why should my girl be taken? became the overwhelming burden of my waking moments. Why should it be my child?

After several months of wrestling with this question, my health was affected and my faith clouded. Then one night, while I was pacing up and down on my lawn, there came me the words as if spoken from the sky: We Christians do not sorrow without hope. We do have to say goodbye to our loved ones here, but we have that glorious hope of good morning over there.

The message brought surcease from my sorrow, comfort for my heart, and stimulus to my faith. I hastened to my room where the poem took form. God gave me a song that has been a blessing in my life, as it will be to others who sorrow for loved ones." 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7YdODX5jiM

One Sweetly Solemn Thought

1 

One sweetly solemn thought

Comes to me o’er and o’er;

Today I’m nearer to my home 

Than e’er I’ve been before.

2 

Nearer my Father’s house,

Where many mansions be;

And nearer to the great white throne,

Nearer the crystal sea.

3 

Nearer the bound of life,

Where falls my burden down;

Nearer to where I leave my cross,

And where I gain my crown.

4 

Savior, confirm my trust,

Complete my faith in thee;

And let me feel as if I stood

Close to eternity.

5 

Feel as if now my feet

Were slipping o'er the brink;

For I may now be nearer home,

Much nearer than I think.

Author: Phoebe Cary (1852)

Apparently there is another tune for this hymn that is more commonly used than the one we have in our hymnals... (I always learn something new when looking for videos for these posts.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxXm77FgkYA

And another...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYZXhRh9xQk

Here is a video (well, audio) of the Woodbury version with which I'm familiar, as in the printed version above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9iDz5InM5U

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

 

1 

Jesus, I my cross have taken,

All to leave and follow thee;

Destitute, despis'd, forsaken,

Thou from hence my all shalt be.

Perish, ev'ry fond ambition,

All I've sought, and hop'd, and known;

Yet how rich is my condition;

God and Heav'n are still my own!

2

Let the world despise and leave me;

They have left my Savior, too;

Human hearts and looks deceive me;

Thou art not, like them, untrue;

And while thou shalt smile upon me,

God of wisdom, love, and might,

Foes may hate, and friends may shun me;

Show thy face, and all is bright!

3

Go then, earthly fame and treasure!

Come, disaster, scorn, and pain!

In thy service, pain is pleasure;

With thy favor, loss is gain.

I have called thee Abba, Father;

I have stayed my heart on thee;

Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;

All must work for good to me.

4

Haste then on from grace to glory,

Arm'd by faith, and wing'd by pray'r;

Heav'n's eternal day before thee;

God's own hand shall guide me there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission;

Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;

Hope soon change to glad fruition,

Faith to sight, and pray'r to praise.

Author: Henry Francis Lyte (1825)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hUQ_z5Ijjo

(I love men's choruses.)

Jesus is All the World to Me

1

Jesus is all the world to me,

My life, my joy, my all;

He is my strength from day to day,

Without him I would fall:

When I am sad, to him I go,

No other one can cheer me so;

When I am sad, he makes me glad,

He's my friend.

2

Jesus is all the world to me,

My friend in trials sore;

I go to him for blessings, and

He gives them o'er and o'er:

He sends the sunshine and the rain,

He sends the harvest's golden grain;

Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain,

He's my friend.

3

Jesus is all the world to me,

And true to him I'll be;

Oh, how could I this friend deny,

When he's so true to me?

Following him I know I'm right,

He watches o'er me day and night;

Following him by day and night,

He's my friend.

4

Jesus is all the world to me,

I want no better friend;

I trust him now, I'll trust him when

Life's fleeting days shall end:

Beautiful life with such a friend,

Beautiful life that has no end;

Eternal life, eternal joy,

He's my friend.

 

Author: Will L. Thompson (1904)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh6TR7Szlgc

 

In the Hour of Trial

1 

In the hour of trial, Jesus, plead for me

lest by base denial I unworthy be.

When you see me waver, with a look recall,

nor for fear or favor ever let me fall.

2 

With forbidden pleasures should this vain world charm

or its tempting treasures spread to work me harm,

bring to my remembrance sad Gethsemane

or, in darker semblance, cross-crowned Calvary.

3 

Should your mercy send me sorrow, toil, and woe,

or should pain attend me on my path below,

grant that I may never fail your cross to view;

grant that I may ever cast my care on you.

4 

When my life is ending, though in grief or pain,

when my body changes back to dust again,

on your truth relying, through that mortal strife,

Jesus, take me, dying, to eternal life.

 

Author: James Montgomery (1834)

Composer: Spencer Lane

This is a very beautiful hymn, with rich and subtle harmonies...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AldtHcfJ7Po

I love the line "When thou seest me waver, with a look recall"

In the Desert of Sorrow and Sin

 

1

In the desert of sorrow and sin,

Lo! I faint as I journey along;

With the warfare without and within,

See my strength and my hope nearly gone.

Refrain

I thirst, let me drink,

Of the live-giving stream let me drink;

’Tis the Rock, cleft for me,

’Tis the water, the water of life.

2 

In my weakness I turn to the fount,

From the Rock that was smitten for me;

And I drink, and I joyfully count

All my trials a blessing to be. [Refrain]

3

O Thou God of compassion, I pray,

Let me ever abide in Thy sight;

Let me drink of the fount day by day,

Till I join Thee in mansions of light. [Refrain]

 

Author: Henry R. Trickett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ARgCrOPUg

Ray Walker has made many recordings of hymns and gospel songs with the Dallas Christian Adult Choir and other choirs (specific to the Church of Christ). Here's a very interesting article about his life and career:

http://www.jordanaires.net/RayWalker/raybio.htm

Exodus 17:1-7

New International Version

Water From the Rock

1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” 4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Footnotes

Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.

Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.

How Firm a Foundation

 

1

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said,

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

2

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

3

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

4

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”

5

“E’en down to old age all My people shall prove

My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;

And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,

Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.”

6

“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”

 

Author Robert Keene 1787

What a beautiful answer to the question, "Why, God? Why these trials and tribulations?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXjk9l-M9uU

This video features a church that has its very own orchestra in congregational worship!

(Not the Mormon Tabernacle.)

Heaven Will Surely Be Worth It All

1 

Often I’m hindered on the way, 

burdened so heavy I almost fall; 

then I hear Jesus sweetly say, 

“heaven will surely be worth it all.”

2 

Many the trials, toils and tears, 

many a heartache may here appall; 

but the dear Lord so truly says: 

“heaven will surely be worth it all.”

3

Toiling and pain I will endure, 

till I shall hear the death angel call; 

Jesus has promised, and I’m sure, 

“heaven will surely be worth it all.”

Chorus: 

Heaven will surely be worth it all, 

worth all the sorrows that here befall; 

after this life with all its strife, 

heaven will surely be worth it all.

 

W. Oliver Cooper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcWrwofJ6Zk

O That Will Be Glory

1 

When all my labors and trials are o’er,

And I am safe on that beautiful shore,

Just to be near the dear Lord I adore

Will through the ages be glory for me.

Refrain:

O that will be glory for me,

Glory for me, glory for me;

When by His grace I shall look at His face,

That will be glory, be glory for me.

2 

When by the gift of His infinite grace,

I am accorded in heaven a place,

Just to be there and to look on His face

Will through the ages be glory for me. [Refrain]

3 

Friends will be there I have loved long ago;

Joy like a river around me will flow;

Yet just a smile from my Savior, I know,

Will through the ages be glory for me. [Refrain]

 

Author: Chas. H. Gabriel (1900)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Yl1KzSNdA

Did You Think to Pray?

1

Ere you left your room this morning,

Did you think to pray?

In the name of Christ, our Savior,

Did you sue for loving favor

As a shield today?

[Chorus]

Oh, how praying rests the weary!

Prayer will change the night to day.

So, when life gets dark and dreary,

Don’t forget to pray.

2 

When your heart was filled with anger,

Did you think to pray?

Did you plead for grace, my brother,

That you might forgive another

Who had crossed your way?

3 

When sore trials came upon you,

Did you think to pray?

When your soul was full of sorrow,

Balm of Gilead did you borrow

At the gates of day?

 

Author: M. A. Kidder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTKLdxHWAFE

This video is a less solemn-than-usual rendition of this sweet hymn, performed bluegrass style by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

By and By

 

1 

Trials dark on ev'ry hand,

and we cannot understand

All the ways that God would lead us

to that blessed Promised Land;

But He'll guide us with His eye,

and we'll follow till we die;

We will understand it better by and by.

Chorus:

By and by, when the morning comes,

When the saints of God are gathered home,

We will tell the story how we've overcome;

We will understand it better by and by.

2 

Oft our cherished plans have failed,

disappointments have prevailed,

And we've wandered in the darkness,

heavyhearted and alone;

But we're trusting in the Lord,

and according to His Word,

We will understand it better by and by. [Chorus]

3 

Temptations, hidden snares

often take us unawares,

And our hearts are made to bleed

for some thoughtless word or deed,

And we wonder why the test

when we try to do our best,

But we'll understand it better by and by. [Chorus]

Author: Charles Albert Tindley

Who Will Follow Jesus?

1 

Who will follow Jesus, Standing for the right,

Holding up his banner In the thickest fight?

List'ning for his orders, Ready to obey,

Who will follow Jesus, Serving him to-day?

Chorus:

Who will follow Jesus? Who will make reply,

"I am on the Lord's side, Master, here am I?"

Who will follow Jesus? Who will make reply,

"I am on the Lord's side, Master, here am I?"

2 

Who will follow Jesus In life's busy ways,

Working for the Master, Giving him the praise?

Eearnest in his vineyard, Honoring his laws,

Faithful to his counsel, Watchful for his cause? [Chorus]

3 

Who will follow Jesus? When the tempter charms,

Fleeing then, for safety To the Saviour's arms;

Trusting in his mercy, Trusting in his power,

Seeking fresh renewals Of his grace each hour. [Chorus]

4 

Who will follow Jesus In his work of love?

Leading others to him, Lifting prayers above;

Courage, faithful servant; In his word we see,

On our side forever Will this Saviour be. [Chorus]

Author: Eliza E. Hewitt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnzOwz_yupQ

He Keeps Me Singing

1 

There's within my heart a melody;

Jesus whispers sweet and low,

"Fear not, I am with you, peace, be still,"

in all of life's ebb and flow.

Refrain:

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

sweetest name I know,

fills my every longing,

keeps me singing as I go.

2 

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,

discord filled my heart with pain,

Jesus swept across the broken strings,

stirred the slumbering chords again. [Refrain]

3 

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,

trials fall across the way;

though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,

see His footprints all the way. [Refrain]

4 

Feasting on the riches of His grace,

resting 'neath His sheltering wing,

always looking on His smiling face,

that is why I shout and sing. [Refrain]

5 

Soon He's coming back to welcome me

far beyond the starry sky;

I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,

I shall reign with Him on high. [Refrain]

Author: Luther B. Bridgers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gT-f8sDBJI

Lots of old familiar faces in this video. And the great Wanda Vick on fiddle.

Higher Ground

1 

I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining ev'ry day;

Still praying as I’m onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up, and let me stand

By faith, on heaven’s tableland;

A higher plane than I have found,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2 

My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Though some may dwell where these abound,

My prayer, my aim, is higher ground. [Refrain]

3 

I want to live above the world,

Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught a joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground. [Refrain]

4 

I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,

“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.” [Refrain]

Author: Johnson Oatman, Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D40E45gLf-Q

The Way of the Cross Leads Home

1 

I must needs go home by the way of the cross,

There's no other way but this;

I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light,

If the way of the cross I miss.

Chorus:

The way of the cross leads home, 

The way of the cross leads home;

It is sweet to know as I onward go,

The way of cross leads home.

2 

I must needs go on in the blood sprinkled way,

The path that the Savior trod,

If I ever climb to the heights sublime,

Where the soul is at home with God. [Chorus]

3 

Then I bid farewell to the way of the world,

To walk in it nevermore;

For the Lord says, "Come," and I seek my home

Where He waits at the open door. [Chorus]

Author: Jessie Brown Pounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsgXFbrYEAY

Turn Your Radio On

In honor of World Radio Day...

1

Come and listen in to the radio station

Where the mighty Hosts of Heaven sing;

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on,

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on.

If you wanna hear the songs of Zion

Come from the land of endless spring.

Get in touch with God, Get in touch with God;

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on.

Refrain:

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on

And listen to the music in the air.

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on,

Heaven's glory shared, glory shared.

Turn your lights down low, Turn your lights down low

And listen to Master's radio.

Get in touch with God, Get in touch with God;

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on.

2

Come and listen in to the glory land chorus,

Listen to glad Hosanna's ring:

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on,

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on.

Get a little taste of love eternal,

Get a little Heaven in your soul;

Get in touch with God, Get in touch with God,

Turn your radio on, Turn your radio on.

Music and Lyrics by Albert E. Brumley (1939)

These are supposed to be the original lyrics. They do not exactly match the lyrics in recorded versions of the song that I have heard. Here are a couple of videos of  performances of this great old song -- one by Ray Stevens (my favorite) and one by the Carter Family, with Johnny Cash and Bonnie Owens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDK8JGD_Ffc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPlTokMdeiM

I'd also like to recommend a book by the same title...

Ace Collins has written a bunch of books about the stories behind songs. They are available on Amazon, in the Kindle store.

The Lord's My Shepherd

1 

The LORD’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want.

He makes me down to lie

in pastures green; He leadeth me

the quiet waters by.

2 

My soul He doth restore again;

and me to walk doth make

within the paths of righteousness,

e’en for his own name’s sake.

3 

Yea, though I walk thro' death’s dark vale,

yet will I fear no ill;

for Thou art with me, and Thy rod

and staff me comfort still.

4 

My table Thou hast furnishéd

in presence of my foes;

my head Thou dost with oil anoint,

and my cup overflows.

5 

Goodness and mercy all my life

shall surely follow me:

and in God’s house forevermore

my dwelling place shall be.´

Author: Francis Rous (1579)

This poetic version of the 23rd Psalm has been set to many different tunes. Here are videos of three of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTHr9UcvWko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqEWKFBLx9E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGoxVDUlH7E