Sunday's Hymn: All Praise to God Who Reigns Above

All praise to God, who reigns above,
The God of all creation,
The God of wonders, pow’r, and love,
The God of our salvation!
With healing balm my soul he fills,
The God who every sorrow stills,
To God all praise and glory!

What God’s almighty pow’r hath made
His gracious mercy keepeth;
By morning dawn or evening shade
His watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
Within the kingdom of his might,
Lo, all is just and all is right,
To God all praise and glory!

I cried to him in time of need:
Lord God, O, hear my calling!
For death he gave me life indeed
And kept my feet from falling.
For this my thanks shall endless be;
O thank him, thank our God, with me,
To God all praise and glory!

The Lord forsaketh not his flock,
His chosen generation;
He is their refuge and their rock,
Their peace and their salvation.
As with a mother’s tender hand
He leads his own, his chosen band,
To God all praise and glory!

Ye who confess Christ’s holy name,
To God give praise and glory!
Ye who the Father’s power proclaim,
To God give praise and glory!
All idols under foot be trod,
The Lord is God! the Lord is God!
To God all praise and glory!

Then come before his presence now
And banish fear and sadness;
To your Redeemer pay your vow
And sing with joy and gladness:
Though great distress my soul befell,
The Lord, my God, did all things well,
To God all praise and glory!

—Jo­hann J. Schütz

Other hymns, worship songs, or quotes for this Sunday:

• A Little While! Our Lord Shall Come at The Happy Wonderer
• It’s A Good Time To Dwell On His Love With Sweetest Song at The Outspoken Tulip

Sunday's Hymn: Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

—Thomas Ken

Other hymns, worship songs, or quotes for this Sunday:

• It Is Well With My Soul at The Happy Wonderer
• The Day of March Has Come at The Outspoken Tulip

Selected Reading, August 8, 2020

 

A few suggestions for your weekend reading and watching.

Christian History

Augustine’s Teenage Coauthor
I didn’t know Augustine had a son. Did you? (5 Minutes in Church History)

Teaching Church History to Children
“Few historians today would deliberately write a biased account. While it’s true that different authors bring different points of view to the same narrative, most try to present facts with some objectivity, offering various sides of each story. But this is not always true in children’s books, particularly in the Christian market. Although the quality of Christian biographies for children has improved from the largely fictionalized hagiographies of the 19th century, embellishing stories and using them to convey a specific message are still pesky habits that need to be recognized and fought.” —Simonetta Carr

Bibical Theology

The Exodus Prefigured
This article from Credo Magazine by Michael Morales shows how Abraham’s life foreshadowed the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It also has pretty much the best intro ever.

Biblical Interpretation

The Self-Concealment and Self-Revelation of the Son of Man
A puzzle from the life of Christ: “There is a perplexing feature of the gospel records that doesn’t lend itself to the easiest of solutions. On numerous occassions Jesus charged His disciples, someone He healed, or demons not to make known His person or work (Matt. 9:30; Mark 1:24; 5:6, 43; 7:36; 9:20; Luke 8:56). This should strike us as strange, considering that Jesus came into the world to draw the world to Himself. After all, the ministry of Christ was self-evidently a public ministry. He did and taught nothing subversively… . So why then did He warn certain individuals not to speak about Him or His works?”—Nicholas Batzig

The Good Portion

Learning to Love the Bible Together
Another discussion with the authors of the Good Portion books—Keri Folmar, Natalie Brand, Jenny Manley, and me.