Thanksgiving vista: Thy noblest wonders here we view

The heavens declare thy glory, Lord

Words: Isaac Watts, 1719
Music: Alfreton

The heavens declare thy glory, Lord,
in every star thy wisdom shines
but when our eyes behold thy Word,
we read thy Name in fairer lines.

Sun, moon, and stars convey thy praise
round the whole earth, and never stand:
so when thy truth begun its race,
it touched and glanced on every land.

Nor shall thy spreading Gospel rest
till through the world thy truth has run,
till Christ has all the nations blest
that see the light or feel the sun.

Great Sun of Righteousness, arise,
bless the dark world with heavenly light;
thy Gospel makes the simple wise,
thy laws are pure, thy judgments right.

Thy noblest wonders here we view
in souls renewed and sins forgiven;
Lord, cleanse my sins, my soul renew,
and make thy word my guide to heaven.

Selah.

A November van gogh

Surely God is the ultimate painter -- real or surreal, abstract or primitive, impressionistic or expressionistic: all earthly masters learn from Him... acknowledged or unacknowledged, the proof is in nature's glory! Here, late autumn trees lean out over a November stream, forming a layered painting on liquid canvas... the floating leaves add dimension and texture and the sky adds its background hue... masterpiece of the moment, undeniable clue of Creator! Enjoy!

Thy providence my guard

Lord, be thy word my rule

Words: C. Wordsworth, 1872
Tune: Quam dilecta

Lord, be thy word my rule;
in it may I rejoice;
thy glory be my aim,
thy holy will my choice;

Thy promises my hope;
thy providence my guard;
thine arm my strong support;
thyself my great reward!

Selah.

p.s. a prayer I ask this coming week, for all who read here with benefit... please lift me up for safety to and from youth camp, and for clarity of mind and heart during the camp! God bless you and thank you!

Rain kissed grass in the gloaming

The artistry of nature is remarkable to me... how light and water and sun can turn almost any scene into a masterpiece of wonder -- for that one moment in time! Here, the last rays of evening light catch the lingering rain on grass, crowning each stalk of grass with priceless, studded diamonds! Click to enlarge the pic, and enjoy the show! :-)

You are a present joy, O Lord

A hymn of glory let us sing

Words: The Venerable Bede (673-735)
Tune: Jam lucis orto sidere, Deo gracias

A hymn of glory let us sing,
new hymns throughout the world shall ring;
by a new way none ever trod
Christ takes His place – the throne of God!

You are a present joy, O Lord;
you will be ever our reward;
and great the light in you we see
to guide us to eternity.

O risen Christ, ascended Lord,
all praise to you let earth accord,
who are, while endless ages run,
with Father and with Spirit, One.

Selah.

Choosing this day to be a stone of glory

At the centre of the universe

C. S. Lewis

His journey to Perelandra was not a moral exercise, nor a sham fight. If the issue lay in Maleldil's hands, Ransom and the Lady were those hands. The fate of a world really depended on how they behaved in the next few hours. ...

The voluble self protested, wildly, swiftly, like the propeller of a ship racing when it is out of the water. The imprudence, the unfairness, the absurdity of it! Did Maleldil want to lose worlds? What was the sense of so arranging things that anything really important should finally and absolutely depend on such a man of straw as himself? And at that moment, far away on Earth, as he now could not help remembering, men were at war, and white-faced subalterns and freckled corporals who had but lately begun to shave, stood in horrible gaps or crawled forward in deadly darkness, awaking, like him, to the preposterous truth that all really depended on their actions; and far away in time, Horatious stood on the bridge, and Constantine settled in his mind whether he would or would not embrace the new religion, and Eve herself stood looking upon the forbidden fruit and the Heaven of Heavens waited for her decision. He writhed and ground his teeth, but could not help seeing. Thus and not otherwise, the world was made. Either something or nothing must depend on individual choices. And if something, who could set bounds to it? A stone may determine the course of a river. He was that stone at this horrible moment which had become the centre of the whole universe...

C. S. Lewis, Perelandra