Today’s hymn comes from Charlotte Elliott, writer of the more well known hymn “Just As I Am”. I hope you can say along with Ms Elliott today, in all your cares and troubles, “Thy will be done!”Enjoy!

My God, my Father, while I stray
Far from my home in life’s rough way,
O teach me from my heart to say,
“Thy will be done!”

Though dark my path, and sad my lot,
Let me be still and murmur not,
Or breathe the prayer divinely taught,
“Thy will be done!”

If Thou shouldst call me to resign
What most I prize, it ne’er was mine;
I only yield Thee what was Thine;
“Thy will be done!”

Let but my fainting heart be blest
With Thy sweet Spirit for its guest,
My God, to Thee I leave the rest;
“Thy will be done!”

Renew my will from day to day,
Blend it with Thine, and take away
All that now makes it hard to say,
“Thy will be done!”

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Today”s hymn is another honest plea from John Newton, which I’m sure we can all resonate with. What I love about Newton’s hymns are the simplicity and honesty contained within. I’m sure this hymn will come in handy, if not today, than not long after! Enjoy!

Quiet, Lord, my froward heart;
Make me teachable and mild,
Upright, simple, free from art;
Make me as a weaned child,
From distrust and envy free,
Pleased with all that pleases Thee.

What Thou shalt to-day provide
Let me as a child receive;
What to-morrow may betide
Calmly to Thy wisdom leave:
‘Tis enough that Thou wilt care;
Why should I the burden bear?

As a little child relies
On a care beyond his own,
Knows he’s neither strong nor wise,
Fears to stir a step alone,–
Let me thus with Thee abide,
As my Father, Guard, and Guide.

Thus preserved from Satan’s wiles,
Safe from dangers, free from fears,m
May I live upon Thy smiles
Till the promised hour appears,
When the sons of God shall prove
All their Father’s boundless love.

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Today’s hymn is one that is usually sung at Pentecost. The original words are an Italian poem, “Discendi amor santo” by the medieval poet Bianco da Siena (1350-1399). In 1861, the Anglo-Irish clergyman and writer Richard Frederick Littledale translated it into English¹. Enjoy!

Come down, O Love divine!
seek out this soul of mine
and visit it with your own ardour glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, your holy flame bestowing.

There let it freely burn
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let your glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and make my pathway clear, by your illuming.

Let holy charity
my outward vesture be,
and lowliness become my inner clothing;
true lowliness of heart
which takes the humbler part,
and for its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong
with which the soul will long
shall far surpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace
till we become the place
in which the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.

¹https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost

Today’s hymn comes from John Newton, one of the best hymn writers in history. I love how he paints such clear images with his poems; I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one!

Zeal is that pure and heav’nly flame,
The fire of love supplies;
While that which often bears the name,
Is self in a disguise.

True zeal is merciful and mild,
Can pity and forbear;
The false is headstrong, fierce and wild,
And breathes revenge and war.

While zeal for truth the Christian warms,
He knows the worth of peace;
But self contends for names and forms,
Its party to increase.

Zeal has attain’d its highest aim,
Its end is satisfy’d;
If sinners love the Saviour’s name,
Nor seeks it ought beside.

But self however well employ’d,
Has its own ends in view;
And says as boasting Jehu cry’d,
“Come see what I can do.”

Self may its poor reward obtain,
And be applauded here;
But zeal the best applause will gain,
When Jesus shall appear.

Dear Lord, the idol self dethrone,
And from our hearts remove;
And let no zeal by us be shown,
But that which springs from love.

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Today’s hymn comes from Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli. Known primarily (and rightly so) as the main driving force of the Reformation in Switzerland, Zwingli was also an avid musician; his Roman Catholic foes used to sneer at him as “the guitar-player” and the “evangelist-on-the-flute”¹. Some believe that the occasion for writing this particular hymn was the First War of Kap­pel², an armed conflict in 1529 between the Protestant and the Catholic cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy during the Reformation in Switzerland. Enjoy!

Do Thou direct Thy chariot, Lord,
And guide us at Thy will;
Without Thy aid our strength is vain,
And useless all our skill.
Look down upon Thy saints below
When prostrate laid beneath the foe.

Beloved Shepherd, who hast saved
Our souls from death and sin,
Uplift Thy voice, awake Thy sheep,
That slumbering lie within
Thy fold; and curb, with Thy right hand,
The rage of Satan’s furious band.

Send down Thy peace and banish strife,
Let bitterness depart;
Revive the spirit of Thy grace
In each true Christian’s heart;
Then shall Thy church forever sing
The praises of her heavenly King.

¹Needham, Nick, “2000 years of Christ’s Power Volume 3: Renaissance and Reformation”, page 152
²http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/d/t/d/i/dtdirect.htm

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Today’s song is a collaboration between pastor writer Trevin Wax and Matt Boswell. Telling the story in 2017 of this hymn Trevin writes “Right now, I serve as the primary teaching pastor at my church. Every week, I pray that the Spirit would move among us—showing us the glory of Jesus through his Word, through our worship, and in our church’s service to the community. I wanted to put those prayers to music, so that our congregation could sing/pray together. That’s how the title came about: “O Spirit, Lift Our Eyes to Jesus.” Once we had the title, Matt got to work on the melody, and I worked on the words¹.” I hope God answers this prayer for you today; enjoy!

O Spirit, lift our eyes to Jesus,
help us see Him in Your word.
The Hero of our great redemption,
suffering Saviour, risen Lord.
Over clouds of sin and sorrow,
raise us up to see our King.
O make our hearts to burn within us,
open eyes, and we will sing.

O Spirit, lift our hearts to Jesus,
make His love our sole delight,
with ever-living bread from heaven,
hungry beggars, satisfy.
Overwhelm cold hearts with kindness,
wake us with good news of grace.
O lift us up to taste His goodness,
come and set our souls ablaze.

O Spirit, lift our hands to Jesus,
give us strength to do His will.
With open arms and true compassion,
His commands we would fulfil.
Overcome our hearts’ resistance
with the beauty of His scars.
O, set us free for love and service,
make His hands and heart be ours.

¹thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/the-story-behind-a-hymn-i-wrote-with-matt-boswell-o-spirit-lift-our-eyes-to-jesus/?amp

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Today’s hymn is written by Elisha Hoffman (1839-1929), an American minister who wrote more than 2,000 gospel songs including “Leaning on the everlasting arms”. The story behind this hymn by the pastor-composer was told to another gospel composer, Charles Gabriel, in 1916: “While I was a pastor at Lebanon, Pa., I called one day at the home of a parishioner and found the lady in great distress and sorrow. Wringing her hands, she cried: “What shall I do—what shall I do?” I replied, “You cannot do better than to take it all to Jesus—you must tell Jesus.” For a moment she seemed abstracted in meditation, then her face glowed, her eyes lighted up, and with animation she exclaimed, “Yes, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus!”¹ I hope you too can tell all your burdens to Jesus; enjoy!

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.

Refrain
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;
He is a kind, compassionate friend;
If I but ask Him, He will deliver,
Make of my troubles quickly an end. [Refrain]

Tempted and tried, I need a great Savior,
One who can help my burdens to bear;
I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;
He all my cares and sorrows will share. [Refrain]

O how the world to evil allures me!
O how my heart is tempted to sin!
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the vict’ry to win. [Refrain]

¹hymnologyarchive.com/i-must-tell-jesus

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Elizabeth Payson Prentiss (1818-1878) was the fifth child of Congregationalist minister, Edward Payson. She began writing stories and poems, and contributed her works to “The youth’s companion”, a New England religious periodical. In 1838 she opened a small girls’ school in her home and took up a Sabbath-school class as well. Two years later, she moved to Richmond, VA, to be a department head at a girls’ boarding school. After a happy period in life, by 1852 she had lost two of her three children, one as a newborn, one at age four. However, she went on to have three more healthy children, despite her poor health. In 1856 she penned her hymn lyrics after she nearly lost her daughter, Minnie, to an illness. I hope after your trials in life, you can still say with Elizabeth “More Love to Thee, O Christ!”. Enjoy!

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee!
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me, “More love, O Christ, to Thee!
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!”

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise,
This still its prayer shall be, “More love, O Christ to Thee!
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!”

¹https://hymnary.org/person/Prentiss_Elizabeth

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Today’s hymn is written by Albert Simpson Reitz in 1925. Reitz worked for the Y.M.C.A. in Topeka, Kansas, from 1903 to 1908, and traveled as a musician with evangelist Henry Ostrom for seven years.  He attended the Moody Bible Institute at Chicago in 1917-1918 and then married Elsie May Oehmcke in 1918. After becoming a Baptist minister, Reitz was encouraged to write hymns and produced over 100 gospel songs in his life­time. This hymn was a result of a soul-stirring Day of Prayer conducted by the Evangelical Prayer Union at Reitz’s Rosehill church and first appeared that year in Gospel Solos and Duets No. 2, compiled by Herbert G. Tovey¹. Enjoy!

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
This is my heart-cry day unto day;
I long to know Thy will and Thy way;
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.

Refrain
Living in Thee, Lord, and Thou in me;
Constant abiding, this is my plea;
Grant me Thy power, boundless and free:
Power with men and power with Thee.

Power in prayer, Lord, power in prayer,
Here ‘mid earth’s sin and sorrow and care;
Men lost and dying, souls in despair;
O give me power, power in prayer!

Refrain

My weakened will, Lord, Thou canst renew;
My sinful nature Thou canst subdue;
Fill me just now with power anew,
Power to pray and power to do!

Refrain

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
Thou art my Pattern, day unto day;
Thou art my Surety, now and for aye;
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.

¹https://hymnstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2023/05/27/teach-me-to-pray/