Sunday's Hymn: Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates!
Behold, the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near,
The Saviour of the world is here.

 
Life and salvation he doth bring,
Wherefore rejoice and gladly sing:
We praise thee, Father, now,
Creator, wise art thou!

A Helper just he comes to thee,
His chariot is humility,
His kingly crown is holiness,
His scepter, pity in distress.

The end of all our woe he brings;
Wherefore the earth is glad and sings:
We praise thee, Saviour, now,
Mighty in deed art thou!

O blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the Ruler is confessed!
O happy hearts and happy homes
To whom this King in triumph comes!

The cloudless sun of joy he is,
Who bringeth pure delight and bliss.
We praise thee, Spirit, now,
Our Comforter art thou!

— Georg Weissel, translated by Catherine Winkworth

Sufjan Stevens

(Just listen to this one. No need to watch unless you’re hankering for a headache.)

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

• Love Divine, All Loves Excelling at Graces Daily
• O Son of God, We Wait for Thee at The Happy Wonderer
• First Sunday in Advent at The Upward Call
• Come Son and Savior, to Embrace from Trevin Wax
• Let us stick to truth and righteousness at Tried With Fire
• When Heaven Kissed Earth at Theology for Girls
• Lord’s Day 48, 2014 at The Thirsty Theologian
• The only man who truly comes to Christ at Blogging Theologically
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: “A fountain sealed” 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.

Wrapping Up a Month of Thanksgiving

Grace by Eric Enstrom

I posted at Out of the Ordinary this morning about the small gifts God gives us.

God’s purpose in the ordinary gifts is our joy: joy in the gifts, but even more, joy in the One who gives them. One hair on a head, one wildflower in a field, one bird in a tree—or a bowl of oatmeal and a loaf of bread—assure us that God is constantly caring for us and working for our good. 

Read the rest.

Thankful Thursday

I thought about skipping the Thankful Thursday post today, but how could I? It’s American Thanksgiving Day! Here are a few things I’m thankful for right now.

• my furnace, a full tank of furnace oil, and the resources to pay for this morning’s oil delivery.  
  
  
• my daughter-in-law, who is a week away from delivering my fourth grandchild, but who still has the energy and patience to care for her two other children—my grandchildren—who are three and 21 months. 
  
  
• fresh raspberries and blackberries on special in the supermarket. When I was a child, the fresh fruit section in the grocery store had just apples, bananas, and maybe oranges in late November. 
  
  
• God’s preservation of his own, assuring me that although my faith waxes and wanes, God will keep me by his power “for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

Also thankful today:

• Kim Shay at Out of the Ordinary

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment with your thanksgiving, post your thanksgiving on your blog, or tweet it. Give me the link by email or in a comment and I’ll add your thanksgiving to the list in the post.