Sunday's Hymn: Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray

Rise, my soul, to watch and pray,
From thy sleep awaken;
Be not by the evil day
Unawares o’ertaken.
For the foe,
Well we know,
Oft his harvest reapeth
While the Christian sleepeth.

Watch against the devil’s snares
Lest asleep he find thee;
For indeed no pains he spares
To deceive and blind thee.
Satan’s prey
Oft are they
Who secure are sleeping
And no watch are keeping.

Watch! Let not the wicked world
With its pow’r defeat thee.
Watch lest with her pomp unfurled
She betray and cheat thee.
Watch and see
Lest there be
Faithless friends to charm thee,
Who but seek to harm thee.

Watch against thyself, my soul,
Lest with grace thou trifle;
Let not self thy thoughts control
Nor God’s mercy stifle.
Pride and sin
Lurk within
All thy hopes to scatter;
Heed not when they flatter.

But while watching, also pray
To the Lord unceasing.
He will free thee, be thy stay,
Strength and faith increasing.
O Lord, bless
In distress
And let nothing swerve me
From the will to serve thee.

—Johann B. Freystein, translated by Catherine Winkworth

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Another Year Is Dawning at The Happy Wonderer
• On man, in his own image made at The Upward Call
• Lord’s Day 1, 2016 at The Thirsty Theologian
• The Trinity at Tried With Fire
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: Beware of the walking dead! at Pyromaniacs

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Sunday's Hymn: All Praise to Thee, Eternal God

All praise to thee, Eternal God,
Clothed in a garb of flesh and blood;
Choosing a manger for thy throne,
While worlds on worlds are thine alone.

Once did the skies before thee bow;
A Virgin’s arms contain thee now:
Angels who did in thee rejoice
Now listen for thine infant voice.

A little Child, thou art our Guest,
That weary ones in thee may rest;
Forlorn and lowly is thy birth,
That we may rise to heav’n from earth.

Thou comest in the darksome night
To make us children of the light,
To make us, in the realms divine,
Like thine own angels round thee shine.

All this for us thy love hath done;
By this to thee our love is won:
For this we tune our cheerful lays,
And shout our thanks in ceaseless praise.

—Martin Luther

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Shine Thou Upon Us, Lord at The Happy Wonderer
• I Will Praise the Lord at All Times at The Upward Call
• Christ’s Two Appearings at Tried With Fire
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: When new is old at Pyromaniacs

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Sunday's Hymn: In the Bleak Midwinter

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk,
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air -
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would do my part;
Yet what I can, I give Him -
Give my heart.

—Christina Rossetti

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Joy Bells Are Ringing at The Happy Wonderer
• Jesus, King of Angels at The Upward Call
• Full of Grace and Truth at Tried With Fire
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: Unparalleled condescension at Pyromaniacs

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.