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| The primula outside my window 10/8/25. |
We had two hymns in our zoom church service today that Richard Osman would have called 'bangers' on his 'Richard Osman's House of Games' quiz show on television. He would have been talking about pop songs though.
The first hymn was 'All my hope on God is founded', and the final hymn was 'Great is thy faithfulness'.
At the end of the old year many people choose a word or phrase for the new year, something aspirational, or affirming, such as 'be strong', or 'shine' or whatever. A few years ago the phrase 'strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow' lodged in my brain, and then became an earworm as I tried to remember where they came from. 'Great is thy faithfulness', of course!
Well, that was back then, and I haven't changed them. The earworm has stood me in good stead.
Ang quoted this verse in her comment on yesterday's post
2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, My strength is made perfect in weakness."
That'll do for me. I'll just hang on to those words when I'm getting overwhelmed or struggling.
Music
The King's Singers.
You Are the New Day (follow the link for more information)
Lyrics
You are the new day
You are the new day
I will love you more than me
And more than yesterday
If you can but prove to me
You are the new day
Send the sun in time for dawn
Let the birds all hail the morning
Love of life will urge me say
You are the new day
When I lay me down at night
Knowing we must pay
Thoughts occur that this night might
Stay yesterday
Thoughts that we as humans small
Could slow worlds and end it all
Lie around me where they fall
Before the new day
One more day when time is running out
For everyone
Like a breath I knew would come I reach for
The new day
Hope is my philosophy
Just needs days in which to be
Love of life means hope for me
Borne on a new day
You are the new day
"Sufficient" would be a good #365 word
ReplyDeleteI'll try and remember that one!
DeleteI so enjoyed the music this bright, sunny morning that I played it over and over and had a quick journey into the history of the King's Singers. Thank you, Kirsten.
ReplyDeleteThey clearly love singing together, don't they. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.
DeleteI'm not a great fan of "Great is thy faithfulness" - I'm not sure why. Perhaps it comes from the time I, together with other members of the CU, went into Winchester Prison to support some prisoners who were getting confirmed. The verse about "gazing on God's splendour, sunlight and meadows" (or something) seemed a bit mean in that situation! I always think of those prisoners when we sing it.
ReplyDeleteThere's often a 'problem verse' in a hymn... we sang 'O Jesus I have promised' at my confirmation and I find it impossible to sing the words honestly. I've been known to have my fingers crossed behind my back. Ridiculous, I know. The 'honest' version for me is 'O Jesus I have (sort of) promised to serve thee (most of the time) to the end...'.
DeleteMind you, those prisoners are getting prayers from you every time you sing it!
Delete:-)
DeleteI love how those hymn lines and that verse fit so naturally together without you even trying to make the connection. It feels like a gentle reminder that God sometimes plants exactly the words we’ll need later, long before we know we’ll need them.
ReplyDeleteReading and listening to scripture, and hymns, even if not particularly deeply, or spiritually, (that's me!) helps the words to sink in and make connections that reappear when needed.
Delete