2008·04·20
Lord’s Day 16, 2008
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. (Psalme 122:1 Geneva Bible)
HOW LONG?
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
 Y God, it is not fretfulness
That makes me say “how long?”
It is not heaviness of heart
That hinders me in song;
’Tis not despair of truth and right,
Nor coward dread of wrong.
But how can I, with such a hope
Of glory and of home ;
With such a joy before my eyes,
Not wish the time were come,—
Of years the jubilee, of days
The Sabbath and the sum?
These years, what ages they have been!
This life, how long it seems!
And how can I, in evil days,
’Mid unknown hills and streams,
But sigh for those of home and heart,
And visit them in dreams?
Yet peace, my heart, and hush, my tongue;
Be calm my troubled breast;
Each restless hour is hastening on
The everlasting rest:
Thou knowest that the time thy God
Appoints for thee, is best.
Let faith, not fear nor fretfulness,
Awake the cry, “how long?”
Let no faint-heartedness of soul
Damp thy aspiring song:
Right comes, truth dawns, the night departs
Of error and of wrong.
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
 salme 134
(Geneva Bible)
A song of degrees.
1 Behold, praise ye the Lord, all ye seruants of the Lord, ye that by night stande in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift vp your hands to the Sanctuarie, and praise the Lord.
3 The Lord, that hath made heauen and earth, blesse thee out of Zion.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2008·06·01
Lord’s Day 22, 2008
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. (Psalme 122:1 Geneva Bible)
BE STILL
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
 E still, my soul; Jehovah loveth thee;
Fret not nor murmur at thy weary lot;
Though dark and lone thy journey seems to be,
He ever loves; then trust him, trust Him still;
Let all thy care be this, in doing his will.
Thy hand in His, like fondest, happiest child,
Place thou, nor draw it for a moment thence;
Walk thou with Him, a Father reconciled
Till in His own good time He call thee hence.
Walk with Him now; so shall thy way be bright,
And all thy soul be filled with His most glorious light.
Fight the good fight of faith, nor turn aside
Though fear of peril from or earth or hell;
Take to thee now the armour proved and tried,
Take to thee the spear and sword; oh, wield them well;
So shall thou conquer here, so win the day,
So wear the crown when this hard live has passed away.
Take courage! Faint not, though the foe be strong;
Christ is thy strength; He fighteth on thy side.
Swift be thy face; remember, ’tis not long,
The goal is near; the prize He will provide.
And then from earthly toil thou restest ever;
Thy home on the fair banks of life’s eternal river!
He comes with His reward; ’tis just at hand;
He comes in glory to His promised throne.
My soul, rejoice; ere long thy feet shall stand
Within the city of the Blessed One.
Thy perils past, thy heritage secure,
Thy tears all wiped away, thy joy for ever sure!
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
salme 67
(Geneva Bible)
To him that excelleth on Neginoth. A Psalme or song.
1 God be mercifull vnto vs, and blesse vs, and cause his face to shine among vs. Selah.
2 That they may know thy way vpon earth, and thy sauing health among all nations.
3 Let the people prayse thee, O God: let all the people prayse thee.
4 Let the people be glad and reioyce: for thou shalt iudge the people righteously, and gouerne the nations vpon the earth. Selah.
5 Let the people prayse thee, O God: let all the people prayse thee.
6 Then shall the earth bring foorth her increase, and God, euen our God shall blesse vs.
7 God shall blesse vs, and all the endes of the earth shall feare him.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2008·07·13
Lord’s Day 28, 2008
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. (Psalme 122:1 Geneva Bible)
LET US DRAW NEAR
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
WHY stand I lingering about,
In fear, and weariness, and doubt,
When all is light within?
Thou, the new and living way,
The trembler’s Guide, the sinner's Stay,
My High Priest, lead me in!
I know the mercy-seat is there,
On which thou sitt’st to answer prayer;
I know the blood is shed;
The everlasting covenant sealed,
The everlasting grace revealed,
And life has reached the dead!
Not the mere Paradise below;
The heaven of heavens is opened now,
And we its bliss regain.
Guarded so long by fire and sword,
The gate stands wide, the way restored,
The veil is rent in twain!
Without the cloud and gloom appear,
The peril and the storm are near,
The foe is raging round;
Then let me boldly enter in,
There end my danger, fear, and sin,
And rest on holy ground.
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 109
(Geneva Bible)
To him that excelleth. A Psalme of David.
1 Holde not thy tongue, O God of my praise.
2 For the mouth of the wicked, and the mouth full of deceite are opened vpon me: they haue spoken to me with a lying tongue.
3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.
4 For my friendship they were mine aduersaries, but I gaue my selfe to praier.
5 And they haue rewarded me euil for good, and hatred for my friendship.
6 Set thou the wicked ouer him, and let the aduersarie stand at his right hand.
7 Whe he shalbe iudged, let him be condemned, and let his praier be turned into sinne.
8 Let his daies be fewe, and let another take his charge.
9 Let his children be fatherlesse, and his wife a widowe.
10 Let his children be vagabonds and beg and seeke bread, comming out of their places destroyed.
11 Let the extortioner catch al that he hath, and let the strangers spoile his labour.
12 Let there be none to extend mercie vnto him: neither let there be any to shewe mercie vpon his fatherlesse children.
13 Let his posteritie be destroied, and in the generation following let their name be put out.
14 Let the iniquitie of his fathers bee had in remembrance with the Lord: and let not the sinne of his mother be done away.
15 But let them alway be before the Lord, that he may cut off their memorial from ye earth.
16 Because he remembred not to shew mercie, but persecuted the afflicted and poore man, and the sorowfull hearted to slay him.
17 As he loued cursing, so shall it come vnto him, and as he loued not blessing, so shall it be farre from him.
18 As he clothed himselfe with cursing like a rayment, so shall it come into his bowels like water, and like oyle into his bones.
19 Let it be vnto him as a garment to couer him, and for a girdle, wherewith he shalbe alway girded.
20 Let this be the rewarde of mine aduersarie from the Lord, and of them, that speake euill against my soule.
21 But thou, O Lord my God, deale with me according vnto thy Name: deliuer me, (for thy mercie is good)
22 Because I am poore and needie, and mine heart is wounded within me.
23 I depart like the shadowe that declineth, and am shaken off as the grashopper.
24 My knees are weake through fasting, and my flesh hath lost all fatnes.
25 I became also a rebuke vnto them: they that looked vpon me, shaked their heads.
26 Helpe me, O Lord my God: saue me according to thy mercie.
27 And they shall know, that this is thine hand, and that thou, Lord, hast done it.
28 Though they curse, yet thou wilt blesse: they shall arise and be confounded, but thy seruant shall reioyce.
29 Let mine aduersaries be clothed with shame, and let them couer themselues with their confusion, as with a cloke.
30 I will giue thankes vnto the Lord greatly with my mouth and praise him among ye multitude.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the poore, to saue him from them that woulde condemne his soule.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2008·08·24
Lord’s Day 34, 2008
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. (Psalme 122:1 Geneva Bible)
WHO ARE THESE, AND WHENCE CAME THEY?
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
“Et de Hierosolymis et de Britannia aequaliter patet aula coelestis.”—Jerome. Ep. ad Paulinum.
Not from Jerusalem alone,
To heaven the path ascends;
As near, as sure, as straight the way
That leads to the celestial day,
From farthest realms extends;
Frigid or torrid zone.
What matters how or whence we start?
One is the crown to all;
One is the hard but glorious race,
Whatever be our starting-place;—
Kings round the earth the call
That says, Arise, Depart!
From the balm-breathing, sun-loved isles
Of the bright Southern Sea,
From the dead North‘s cloud-shadow‘d pole,
We gather to one gladsome goal,—
One common home in Thee,
City of sun and smiles!
The cold rough billow hinders none;
Nor helps the calm, fair main;
The brown rock of Norwegian gloom,
The verdure of Tahitian bloom,
The sands of Mizraim‘s plain,
Or peaks of Lebanon.
As from the green lands of the vine,
So from the snow-wastes pale,
We find the ever open road
To the dear city of our God;
From Russian steppe, or Burman vale,
Or terraced Palestine.
Not from swift Jordan‘s sacred stream
Alone we mount above;
Indus or Danube, Thames or Rhone,
Rivers unsainted and unknown;—
From each the home of love
Beckons with heavenly gleam.
Not from gray Olivet alone
We see the gates of light;
From Morven‘s heath or Jungfrau‘s snow
We welcome the descending glow
Of pearl and chrysolite,
And the unsetting sun.
Not from Jerusalem alone
The Church ascends to God;
Strangers of every tongue and clime,
Pilgrims of every land and time,
Throng the well-trodden road
That leads up to the throne.
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 122
(Geneva Bible)
A song of degrees, or Psalme of David.
1 I rejoiced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord.
2 Our feete shall stand in thy gates, O Ierusalem.
3 Ierusalem is builded as a citie, that is compact together in it selfe:
4 Whereunto the Tribes, euen the Tribes of the Lord go vp according to the testimonie to Israel, to prayse the Name of the Lord.
5 For there are thrones set for iudgement, euen the thrones of the house of Dauid.
6 Pray for the peace of Ierusalem: let them prosper that loue thee.
7 Peace be within thy walles, and prosperitie within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and neighbours sakes I will wish thee now prosperitie.
9 Because of the House of the Lord our God, I will procure thy wealth.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2008·10·05
Lord’s Day 40, 2008
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. (Psalme 122:1 Geneva Bible)
PRAISE
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
Praises to Him who built the hills;
Praises to Him the streams who fills;
Praises to Him who lights each star
That sparkles in the blue afar!
Praises to Him who wakes the morn,
And bids it glow with beams new-born;
Who draws the shadows of the night,
Like curtains, o’er our wearied sight!
Praises to Him whose love has given,
In Christ His Son, the life of heaven;
Who for our darkness gives us light,
And turns to day the deepest night!
Praises to Him, in grace who came
To bear our woe, and sin, and shame;
Who lived to die, who died to rise,
The God-accepted sacrifice!
Praises to Him the chain who broke,
Opened the prison, burst the yoke,
Sent forth its captives, glad and free,
Heirs of the endless liberty!
Praises to Him who shed abroad
Within our hearts the love of God;
The Spirit of all truth and peace,
Fountain of joy and holiness!
To Father, Son and Spirit now
The hands we lift, the knees we bow;
To Jah-Jehovah thus we raise
The sinner’s endless song of endless praise!
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 14
(Geneva Bible)
To him that excelleth. A Psalme of Dauid.
1 The foole hath said in his heart, There is no God: they haue corrupted, and done an abominable worke: there is none that doeth good.
2 The Lord looked downe from heauen vpon the children of men, to see if there were any that would vnderstand, and seeke God.
3 All are gone out of the way: they are all corrupt: there is none that doeth good, no not one.
4 Doe not all the workers of iniquitie know that they eate vp my people, as they eate bread? they call not vpon the Lord.
5 There they shall be taken with feare, because God is in the generation of the iust.
6 You haue made a mocke at the counsell of the poore, because the Lord is his trust.
7 Oh giue saluation vnto Israel out of Zion: when the Lord turneth the captiuitie of his people, then Iaakob shall reioyce, and Israel shall be glad.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2008·11·16
Lord’s Day 46, 2008
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. (Psalme 122:1 Geneva Bible)
PRAISE TO CHRIST
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
Jesus, the Christ of God,
The Father’s blessed Son,
The Father’s bosom Thine abode,
The Father’s love Thine own.
Jesus, the Lamb of God,
Who us from hell to raise,
Hast shed Thy reconciling blood;
We give Thee endless praise.
God, and yet man, Thou art,
True God, true man art Thou;
Of man, and of man’s earth a part,
One with us Thou art now.
Great sacrifice for sin,
Giver of life for life,
Restorer of the peace within,
True ender of the strife.
To Thee, the Christ of God,
Thy saints exulting sing,
The bearer of our heavy load,
Our own anointed King!
True lover of the lost,
From heaven Thou camest down,
To pay for souls the righteous cost,
And claim them for Thine own.
Rest of the weary, Thou!
To Thee, our rest, we come;
In Thee to find our dwelling now,
Our everlasting home.
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 56 (Geneva Bible) To him that excelleth. A Psalme of David on Michtam, concerning the dumme doue in a farre countrey, when the Philistims tooke him in Gath.
1 Be mercifull vnto me, O God, for man would swallow me vp: he fighteth continually and vexeth me.
2 Mine enemies would dayly swallowe mee vp: for many fight against me, O thou most High.
3 When I was afrayd, I trusted in thee.
4 I will reioyce in God, because of his word, I trust in God, and will not feare what flesh can doe vnto me.
5 Mine owne wordes grieue me dayly: all their thoughtes are against me to doe me hurt.
6 They gather together, and keepe them selues close: they marke my steps, because they waite for my soule.
7 They thinke they shall escape by iniquitie: O God, cast these people downe in thine anger.
8 Thou hast counted my wandrings: put my teares into thy bottel: are they not in thy register?
9 When I cry, then mine enemies shall turne backe: this I know, for God is with me.
10 I will reioyce in God because of his worde: in the Lord wil I reioyce because of his worde.
11 In God doe I trust: I will not be afrayd what man can doe vnto me.
12 Thy vowes are vpon me, O God: I will render prayses vnto thee.
13 For thou hast deliuered my soule from death, and also my feete from falling, that I may walke before God in the light of the liuing.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2009·01·04
Lord’s Day 1, 2009
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. (Psalme 122:1 Geneva Bible)
THE CROSS AND THE CROWN
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
NO blood, no altar now:
The sacrifice is o‘er;
No flame, no smoke, ascends on high;
The Lamb is slain no more!
But richer blood has flowed from nobler veins,
To purge the soul from guilt, and cleanse the
reddest stains.
We thank Thee for the blood,
The blood of Christ, Thy Son;
The blood by which our peace is made,
Our victory is won;
Great victory o’er hell, and sin, and woe,
That needs no second fight, and leaves no
second foe.
We thank Thee for the grace
Descending from above,
That overflows our widest guilt,
The eternal Father’s love:
Love of the Father’s everlasting Son,
Love of the Holy Ghost, Jehovah, three in
One.
We thank Thee for the hope,
So glad, and sure, and clear;
It holds the drooping spirit up
Till the long dawn appear:
Fair hope! with what a sunshine does it cheer
Our roughest path on earth, our dreariest desert
here!
We thank Thee for the crown
Of glory and of life;
’Tis no poor with’ring wreath of earth,
Man’s prize in mortal strife:
’Tis incorruptible as is the throne,
The kingdom of our God and his Incarnate
Son.
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 119:1–8
(Geneva Bible)
Aleph.
1 Blessed are those that are vpright in their way, and walke in the Lawe of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they that keepe his testimonies, and seeke him with their whole heart.
3 Surely they woorke none iniquitie, but walke in his waies.
4 Thou hast commanded to keepe thy precepts diligently.
5 Oh that my waies were directed to keepe thy statutes!
6 Then should I not be confounded, when I haue respect vnto all thy commandements.
7 I will praise thee with an vpright heart, when I shall learne the iudgements of thy righteousnesse.
8 I will keepe thy statutes: forsake mee not ouerlong.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2009·02·15
Lord’s Day 7, 2009
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalm 122:1 (Geneva Bible)
THE END OF THE DAY
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
COME, for thy day, thy wasted day, is closing,
With all its joy and sun;
Bright, loving hours have passed thee by unheeded;
Thy work on earth undone,
And all thy race unrun.
Folly and pleasure hast thou still been chasing,
With the world’s giddy throng,
Beauty and love have been thy golden idols;
And thou hast rushed along,
Still list’ning to their song.
Sorrow and weeping thou hast cast behind thee,
For what were tears to thee?
Life was not life without the smile and sunshine;
Only in revelry
Did wisdom seem to be.
Unclasp, O man, the syren hand of pleasure,
Let the gay folly go!
A few quick years will bring the unwelcome ending;
Then whither dost thou go,
To endless joy or woe?
Clasp a far truer hand, a kinder, stronger,
Of Him the crucified;
Let in a deeper love into thy spirit,
The love of Him who died,
And now is glorified!
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 119:49–56
(Geneva Bible)
Zain.
49 Remember the promise made to thy seruant, wherein thou hast caused me to trust.
50 It is my comfort in my trouble: for thy promise hath quickened me.
51 The proude haue had me exceedingly in derision: yet haue I not declined from thy Lawe.
52 I remembred thy iudgements of olde, O Lord, and haue bene comforted.
53 Feare is come vpon mee for the wicked, that forsake thy Lawe.
54 Thy statutes haue beene my songes in the house of my pilgrimage.
55 I haue remembred thy Name, O Lord, in the night, and haue kept thy Lawe.
56 This I had because I kept thy precepts.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lorde Jesus Christ.
2009·03·29
Lord’s Day 13, 2009
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalm 122:1 (Geneva Bible)
CONFESSION
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
O this soul, how dark and blind!
O this foolish, earthly mind;
This ever froward, selfish will,
Which refuses to be still!
O these ever roaming eyes,
Upward that refuse to rise;
These still wayward feet of mine,
Found in every path but thine!
O these pulses felt within,
Beating for the world and sin,
Sending round the fevered blood,
In a fierce and carnal flood!
O this stubborn, prayerless knee,
Hands so seldom clasped to Thee,
Longings of the soul, that go,
Like the wild wind, to and fro;
To and fro without an aim,
Returning idly whence they came,
Bringing in no joy, no bliss,
Adding to my weariness!
Giver of the heavenly peace,
Bid, O bid, these tumults cease;
Minister Thy holy balm,
Fill me with Thy Spirits calm!
Thou the life, the truth, the way,
Leave me not in sin to stray;
Bearer of the sinners guilt,
Lead me, lead me, as thou wilt!
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 119:97–104
(Geneva Bible)
Mem.
97 Oh howe loue I thy Lawe! it is my meditation continually.
98 By thy commandements thou hast made mee wiser then mine enemies: for they are euer with mee.
99 I haue had more vnderstading then all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
100 I vnderstoode more then the ancient, because I kept thy precepts.
101 I haue refrained my feete from euery euil way, that I might keepe thy word.
102 I haue not declined from thy iudgements: for thou didest teach me.
103 Howe sweete are thy promises vnto my mouth! yea, more then hony vnto my mouth.
104 By thy precepts I haue gotten vnderstanding: therefore I hate all the wayes of falshoode.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lorde Jesus Christ.
2009·05·10
Lord’s Day 19, 2009
Horatius Bonar · Hymns of Faith and Hope · Lord’s Day
I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalm 122:1 (Geneva Bible)
THE MEETING-PLACE.
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
Where the faded flower shall freshen,—
Freshen never more to fade;
Where the shaded sky shall brighten,—
Brighten never more to shade:
Where the sun-blaze never scorches;
Where the star-beams cease to chill;
Where no tempest stirs the echoes
Of the wood, or wave, or hill:
Where the morn shall wake in gladness,
And the moon the joy prolong,
Where the daylight dies in fragrance,
’Mid the burst of holy song:
Brother, we shall meet and rest
’Mid the holy and the blest!
Where no shadow shall bewilder,
Where life’s vain parade is o’er,
Where the sleep of sin is broken,
And the dreamer dreams no more:
Where the bond is never severed;—
Partings, claspings, sob and moan,
Midnight waking, twilight weeping,
Heavy noontide,— all are done:
Where the child has found its mother,
Where the mother finds the child,
Where dear families are gathered.
That were scattered on the wild:
Brother, we shall meet and rest
’Mid the holy and the blest!
Where the hidden wound is healed,
Where the blighted light re-blooms.
Where the smitten heart the freshness
Of its buoyant youth resumes:
Where the love that here we lavish
On the withering leaves of time,
Shall have fadeless flowers to fix on
In an ever spring bright clime:
Where we find the joy of loving,
As we never loved before,—
Loving on, unchilled, unhindered,
Loving once and evermore:
Brother, we shall meet and rest,
’Mid the holy and the blest!
Where a blasted world shall brighten
Underneath a bluer sphere,
And a softer, gentler sunshine
Shed its healing splendor here:
Where earth’s barren vales shall blossom,
Putting on their robe of green,
And a purer, fairer Eden
Be where only wastes have been:
Where a King in kingly glory,
Such as earth has never known,
Shall assume the righteous sceptre,
Claim and wear the holy crown:
Brother, we shall meet and rest,
’Mid the holy and the blest.
—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope.
Psalme 119:145–152
(Geneva Bible)
Koph.
145 I haue cried with my whole heart: heare me, O Lord, and I will keepe thy statutes.
146 I called vpon thee: saue mee, and I will keepe thy testimonies.
147 I preuented the morning light, and cried: for I waited on thy word.
148 Mine eyes preuent the night watches to meditate in thy word.
149 Heare my voyce according to thy louing kindenesse: O Lord, quicken me according to thy iudgement.
150 They drawe neere, that follow after malice, and are farre from thy Lawe.
151 Thou art neere, O Lord: for all thy commandements are true.
152 I haue knowen long since by thy testimonies, that thou hast established them for euer.
Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lorde Jesus Christ.
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