Sunday Hymn: Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts

Jesus, Thou Joy of lov­ing hearts,
Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men,
From the best bliss that earth im­parts,
We turn un­filled to Thee again.

Thy truth un­changed hath ev­er stood;
Thou sav­est those that on Thee call;
To them that seek Thee Thou art good,
To them that find Thee all in all.

We taste Thee, O Thou liv­ing Bread,
And long to feast up­on Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fount­ain­head,
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.

Our rest­less spir­its yearn for Thee,
Wherever our change­ful lot is cast;
Glad when Thy gra­cious smile we see,
Blessed when our faith can hold Thee fast.

O Je­sus, ev­er with us stay,
Make all our mo­ments calm and bright;
Chase the dark night of sin away,
Shed ov­er the world Thy ho­ly light

—Ber­nard of Clair­vaux

Sunday Hymn: Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting

Jesus, I am rest­ing, rest­ing,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am find­ing out the great­ness
Of Thy lov­ing heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze up­on Thee,
And Thy beau­ty fills my soul,
For by Thy trans­form­ing pow­er,
Thou hast made me whole.

Refrain

Jesus, I am rest­ing, rest­ing,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am find­ing out the great­ness
Of Thy lov­ing heart.

O, how great Thy lov­ing kind­ness,
Vaster, broad­er than the sea!
O, how mar­vel­ous Thy good­ness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Be­lov­èd,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy cer­tain­ty of pro­mise,
And have made it mine.

Simply trust­ing Thee, Lord Je­sus,
I be­hold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so change­less,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deep­est long­ings,
Meets, sup­plies its ev­ery need,
Compasseth me round with bless­ings:
Thine is love in­deed!

Ever lift Thy face up­on me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Je­sus,
Earth’s dark sha­dows flee.
Brightness of my Fa­ther’s glo­ry,
Sunshine of my Fa­ther’s face,
Keep me ev­er trust­ing, rest­ing,
Fill me with Thy grace.

—Jean S. Pi­gott

Theological Term of the Week: New Testament Apocrypha

New Testament apocrypha

Early Christian writings related to the narratives or personalities of the New Testament which were never permanently included in the New Testament canon.

• From The Apocrypha by Michael J. Kruger:

Unlike its OT counterpart, the NT Apocrypha is not a tightly defined group of texts. Rather the NT Apocrypha refers to large array of books that look similar to our NT writings in both style and genre, may even claim apostolic origins, and yet never found a permanent home inside the church’s emerging canon. The four major genres of these apocryphal writings match the four major genres of the NT itself: gospel, acts, epistle, and apocalypse.

Learn more: 

1. Blue Letter Bible: What Is the New Testament Apocrypha?
2. Michael J. Kruger: The Apocrypha
3. Michael J. Kruger: Apocryphal Books in Early Christian Codices: Evidence for their Canonical Status?
4. Michael J. Kruger: 10 Misconceptions about the New Testament Canon: #6: “In the Early Stages, Apocryphal Books Were as Popular as Canonical Books”
5. Biblical Foundations: The Apocryphal New Testament

Related term:

• canon of scripture

Filed under Scripture

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