Sunday's Hymn

Another hymn written by a poet.

Strong Son of God, Immortal Love

Strong Son of God, immortal love,
Whom we, that have not seen Thy face,
By faith, and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where we cannot prove.

Thou wilt not leave us in the dust;
Thou madest man, he knows not why,
He thinks he was not made to die:
And Thou hast made him: Thou art just.

Thou seemest human and divine,
The highest, holiest manhood, Thou.
Our wills are ours, we know not how;
Ours wills are ours, to make them Thine.

Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be;
They are but broken lights of Thee,
And Thou, O Lord, art more than they.

We have but faith: we cannot know;
For knowledge is of things we see;
And yet we trust it comes from Thee,
A beam in darkness: let it grow.

Let knowledge grow from more to more,
But more of reverence in us dwell;
That mind and soul, according well,
May make one music as before,

But vaster. We are fools and slight;
We mock Thee when we do not fear;
But help Thy foolish ones to bear—
Help Thy vain worlds to bear Thy light.

—Alfred Tennyson

Other hymns by poets:

• William Cowper
• John Donne
• George Herbert

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• Lord’s Day 25, 2009 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Rise Up, O Men of God at The Happy Wonderer
• Around the Throne of God in Heaven at Hiraeth
• O God, the Rock of Ages at Fieldstone Cottage
• The Great Discovery from The Valley of Vision at The Upward Call.
• Jesus Loves Me at Tapestry of Graces
• Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon at Pyromaniacs:The Folly of Toning Down Hard Truths
• Comfort, Comfort Ye My Children at JoythruChrist
• Update: Lord’s Day 26, 2009 at The Thirsty Theologian

Have you posted a hymn today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by emailing me at the address in the sidebar and I’ll add your post to the list.

Saturday's Old Photo

Another busy Saturday; another repost. This was originally posted at the old blog.

This is my grandma, my mother’s mother, on the left, with her sister-in-law, showing off the catch from their latest fishing trip. I can’t tell what kind of fish those are; perhaps salmon, since there were salmon in the rivers around where they lived in southern Idaho, or maybe lake trout.

My grandma’s name is Rosa Mackie Deckard, and her sister-in-law is Beatrice Mackie, who was married to my grandma’s brother Hollace. The home would be Beatrice and Haulace Mackie’s, I think, since I don’t remember my grandma’s house being as well-kept as this.

My grandma had a difficult life. She moved from Missouri to Idaho with her new husband when she was only nineteen. They hoped to make a better life, but I’m not sure that’s what she got. She had very little, managing to raise eight children while living with an alcoholic husband who was often unemployed.

And when she left her family behind in Missouri, she really left them behind. Trips back were not in her budget and she only made a couple of them over the 50 years that she lived in Idaho. Of course, she had her brother Hollace and his family, who lived in the same small town.

She was a strong woman and a hard worker. And sometimes a lonely woman, I suspect, especially after her children left and her husband died. My family lived in a little town 5 miles south of her for a couple of years, and I remember several times when Grandma Deckard came over for an afternoon visit and ended up staying for a few days.

I love the overalls, the high-waisted slacks, and the bandanas covering the hair. It looks like she had a good time on her fishing trip, and I’m glad for that.

You’ll find a little bit more about my Grandma Deckard’s life here.

Recommended for Listening XV

I’ve got two sermon suggestions for you.

• Do You Like Jesus? The primary intended audience for this talk by Mark Dever is the unchurched person, but if you desire to reach out with the message of Jesus to those who are unfamiliar with it, there will be much in this that you can learn, too.
• The Rich Man and Lazarus. It’s preached by D. A. Carson. Do I need to say anything more to recommend it to you?